The Moon Hides Its Light from Me
by jiraiya's editor
Summary: It's nowhere near the New Moon phase, but one night, Inuyasha changes into a human again. Everyone's confused, especially Inuyasha, because they all see the moon clearly overhead but human-Inuyasha can’t seem to find it! InuYKag then SessKag
1. Where Did The Moon Go?

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

**FadedMoon**

**Disclaimer:** I'll never own Inuyasha no matter much I wish I did '(

**Summary:** It is nowhere near the New Moon phase, but one night, Inuyasha changes into a human again. Everyone is confused, especially Inuyasha, because they all see the moon clearly overhead but Inuyasha (now human) can't seem to find it! This routine starts happening over and over again, night after night. This new vulnerability makes Inuyasha frustrated that he cannot protect his friends or Kagome, and they're protecting him. How much more can Inuyasha handle when his brother, Sesshoumaru, steps into the picture?

**Chapter 1**

**Where Did the Moon go? (THE REWRITE)**

Once again, the Inu-tachi was walking.

And walking.

…

And still walking…

… Yeah, they're still walking.

AGH! SCREW THE WALKING ALREADY GUYS! There are _people _reading this!

"Inuyasha?" Kagome picked up her pace, catching up with the grumpy hanyou at the front of their parade, "Inuyasha? I think we should stop for tonight…" She trailed off as Inuyasha whirled on her.

"Stop?" he questioned her, pointing at the sun dipping back into the earth, "Why stop now? There's still some light left!"

Kagome sighed, "I can't sense any shards nearby… and…"

She gently put a hand on his cheek, turning his head to look at the rest of the party behind them. Sango was dozing off as she walked, all the while giving a jerked slap towards the direction of the groping monk who happened to attempt another grope every five seconds.

"Oh…" was all the hanyou could say as his grumpiness left him.

Why was Inuyasha grumpy? Because it was his birthday. That doesn't answer the question? Well, he's grumpy because it's his birthday, but nobody wished him a happy birthday. Then he has a right to be grumpy, you say? No… he doesn't. Its actually his own fault for not telling anyone that today was his birthday. So sux0rz to him.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome called, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Oh… right," he cleared his throat, "Guys! Let's stop here for tonight!"

A drowsy Shippo suddenly hyped up as he jumped off Kilala and began terrorizing the rest of everybody with his annoyingly perky self.

Grateful for the stop, Sango sunk down to the ground, giving the houshi one last slap before falling asleep as she rested against a tree. Miroku, however, left the beauty to her beauty sleep as he went to Kagome to help her prepare dinner. (_A/N: IOW, continue his reign of pervertedness_)

Inuyasha slumped off somewhere to be his immature grouchy-pants party-pooper, all the while Shippo would continue to be his hyperly annoying self.

"Inuyasha?" the pipsqueak piped, "Why are you so grouchy?" Shippo made a face at the hanyou. The grouch decided to ignore him. But not for long…

After twenty or so more seconds of the kitsune's nuisance, the hanyou cracked.

"STOPBOTHERINGMEFORTHELOVEOFGODITSMYFREAKINGBIRTHDAY!"

Kagome, who was in the middle of pouring soup into the bowl that Miroku was holding with one hand, while the other was reaching for her butt, stared at the hanyou, not noticing that the soup was spilling over the sides of the bowl. Miroku also stood staring at Inuyasha, not even noticing that the boiling hot soup was running over his hands. Sango who had awoke during the "fortheloveofgod"-part, was staring at the hanyou while she was in the middle of a yawn. Shippo just stared. Well… his hair was quite disheveled by the strong gusts of dogbreath that came with the yell.

Anyways, everyone was in shock… but not for long.

"HOLY –BEEP-" Miroku screamed, his hands gone red from the hot liquid as Sango quickly rushed to his aid.

Kagome dropped the ladle she was using to serve and quickly grabbed Shippo away from the hanyou.

"SIT! SIT SIT SIT! SIITTTT!" she screamed, successfully downing the poor half demon.

Ten seconds later, the hanyou managed to pull himself off the ground for a fraction of an inch.

"Stupid wench-" he spoke with anger written all over his face. Suddenly, he was grabbed up by the collar of his fire-rat shirt, then pushed onto his back by an impaling force.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, INUYASHA!" the girl cried out from her spot at his abdomen. Inuyasha was confused.

Suddenly, the pair was swarmed by the rest of their group.

"Happy birthday, Inuyasha!"

"Happy birthday! We didn't know!"

"Happy happy happy birthday!"

"meooow!"

Uh. Yeah.

Anyways! Inuyasha was feeling great now- all his grumpiness of not being congratulated on his getting older… speaking of which.

Kagome let go of him and stood, helping the hanyou up as well.

"How old are you now?" a curious monk questioned the half demon.

Inuyasha blinked in surprise- he hadn't considered this…

"I'm not sure… I was kind of "dead" for fifty years… and I was…" Kagome tuned him out. (_A/N_: _Sorry guys, I don't even wanna do math to figure out how old he is…_)

Standing a little ways from the group, she picked up a bowl and began pouring soup into it.

'_Being "dead" for fifty years…_' she bitterly thought, '_He's thinking about Kikyo then…_'

Suddenly, she heard gasps come from behind her, followed by a lovely, "WHAT THE-?"

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Turning around to see what was causing the commotion, Kagome wasn't surprised. The hanyou was turning into a human again because of the new moon phase that happened once a month… '_Wait… what the…? The moon was still out!_' thought Kagome as she looked toward the sky.

In fact, the moon was nearing the _full_ moon phase. Rubbing her eyes in disbelief, she looked up at Inuyasha then the moon again. No, she wasn't seeing things, Inuyasha WAS turning human again on a night of an almost full moon. The hanyou, turning human, was confused at the fact that his silvery hair was turning midnight black, his clawed hands were changing back to normal ones, and his ears went down to the side of his head as he felt drained from his powers.

'_This is strange_,' thought the now-completely-human Inuyasha, '_it couldn't have been one month already. I usually know when I'm going to turn back into a human._'

Looking up at the sky, he saw no moon, which confused him even more. '_This CAN'T be right!_' he frantically thought, '_I ALWAYS know when this is going to happen. More overly, my last time of the month was just two weeks ago or at least I think so. BUT THIS CAN'T BE RIGHT! What's going on!_'

Sango and Miroku looked at Kagome in confusion and Kagome returned the same gaze. '_What's going on?_' they thought at the same time. Each one of them was speechless, unable to express their confusion other than a look of disbelief and gaping mouths.

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"Hey Inuyasha! Why are you human? Can't you see the moon is out?" piped the small youkai.

Glaring at the kitsune with a look of confusion at the same time, Inuyasha answered, "What do you mean? There is NO moon. Uh… right guys?" changing the direction of his reply to his fellow humans.

Unsure of how to answer the question, Kagome exchanged worried glances with Sango and Miroku. How could they explain to the hanyou that the moon WAS out and that his hanyou-self just made a mistake at when to change forms?

Trying to lift the thick air full of tension, Miroku uncertainly commented, "Geez, Inuyasha… I suppose your 'time of the month' came too soon, can't you control those raging hormones of yours?"

This earned him two bumps on the back of his head as Sango and Kagome beat him down. Inuyasha just stood there, looking so helpless and unsure of what to do. Then, as the hentai monk was recovering, the gang turned around at the rustling of bushes coming from across the stream behind them.

* * *

Yay! I was able to do a rewrite in just one night… I hope it's better suited to you people's liking! 


	2. This Is Why I Hate Being Human

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

**FadedMoon**

**Disclaimer:** It's actually all logic, yannoe? If I did own Inuyasha then I wouldn't have shared him with ANYONE! I'd be the selfish, little brat I am and keep him to myself and never ever let anyone write any stories about him because he's all MINE! But… I don't… so boohoo… it sucks, doesn't it?

**Chapter 2**

**This Is Why I Hate Being Human**

Inuyasha just stood there, looking so helpless and unsure of what to do. Then, as the hentai monk was recovering, the gang turned around at the rustling of bushes coming from across the stream behind them.

* * *

Whirling around, the group stared at the far away bushes, all trying to adjust their human eyes to the dark, except Shippo. The small kitsune took one small whiff of the air and shouted, "WATCH OUT! IT'S A DEMON!" 

But he had been too late to warn the group, for the youkai had already jumped out at them. Instinctively, Inuyasha unsheathed his Tetsusaiga, willing for it to transform. But when he looked toward his hand that held the Tetsusaiga, it was still the useless rusted katana. Remembering his current state, he sighed and cursed his human side, which he knew would probably be the death of him someday. The others, seeing that Inuyasha had failed transforming his katana, drew their weapons slowly.

The youkai, who had jumped over to their side of the stream, landed softly and stayed crouched for a moment. Then straightening up, the campfire revealed that the demon was wearing a long black hooded-cloak that shadowed its face, despite the brightly burning fire. Kagome nervously fitted an arrow to the bow and started to raise it toward the youkai when it spoke.

"So, you must be the 'legendary' hanyou, Inuyasha," said the covered demon.

Taking another whiff, Shippo quietly murmured, "A female bat youkai…? Why in these parts? I thought they lived far from here and wanted nothing to do with the Shikon no Tama."

The temporary human, who stood next to the kitsune, looked up at hearing the news. '_So it's a bat youkai… a group of them lived near my home when I was little… How does she know me though?_' wondered Inuyasha.

"What do you want Bat?" he demanded, "If it's the jewel, then you will not get it." He motioned Miroku and Sango to move in front of Kagome and protect her and the jewel she carried.

"No, I have not come for the powerful jewel, I thought that Inuyasha would know that we bat youkai, who are faithful to the inu youkai, stay away from the jewel," scoffed the bat demon, "I'm here for YOU."

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With that, she drew a boomerang that was similar to Sango's, but yet quite smaller. Sango laughed saying, "You think you can defeat us with just that one tiny boomerang?" revealing the massive boomerang in her hands.

Her laugh was cutoff short for the youkai had thrown the boomerang directly at Sango and it flew right by her face giving her a gash from her ear to straight across her cheek, as if she had one stripe of a demon's markings. Gasping, Sango reached up to her face as blood flowed freely. Miroku, seeing this, ran to her checking if she would be okay, then he turned to see the demon flying straight at them. The demon had caught the boomerang then broke it in half to the monk's surprise. He almost smirked at the demon for such a clumsy mistake, but he then saw a gleam of silver chains reflecting the light of the still-burning fire. The bat youkai pulled the two halves of the used-to-be boomerang apart revealing that it was actually nun chucks inside. The youkai started attacking Miroku with it and the monk tried to block her attacks with his staff with no avail. Then an arrow was shot from Kagome's bow and whizzed by the bat's arm and merely scratched it. The demon angrily glared at the girl for giving her such a cut.

'_They're better than I thought._'

She attacked once more at the houshi knocking him off his feet then gave him one more blow to the head and the monk was knocked unconscious. Turning around to the girl who shot the arrow earlier, she was caught by surprise that another arrow had already been shot was just a foot away from her heart, but she swiped at it was it was gone.

Inuyasha saw this all happen right before his eyes, and still he stood there helpless, trying to find out some way to help his friends. His grip on the Tetsusaiga tightened when he saw the female youkai start toward Kagome, who was rapidly shooting arrows at demon trying to purify it. The bat demon merely swiped at each one with her clawed hands until she was just a few feet away. Then she reached for the bow itself and snapped it in two, as Kagome stumbled backwards onto the ground.

Just as the demon lifted her right clawed hand to give the fatal blow to Kagome, who had her eyes tightly shut, Inuyasha charged at the bat demon knocking her over. The youkai's red eyes flashed toward Inuyasha as she grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

Kagome, who had been waiting for the pain, uncertainly opened her eyes to see her hero being choked by the bat youkai. Then she saw movement behind the youkai and hanyou, Sango was trying to stand up from the blood loss. The demon exterminator gathered her strength and hurled her great boomerang toward the demon hitting it square the side sending the demon and hanyou flying. The demon landed a couple hundred feet away and the hanyou half that distance for the she had released her grip as they sailed through the air. Both landed hard and with a big crash, and Inuyasha thought as pain raced through his body, '_Gods that hurt… this is exactly why I hate being human… half-human even…_'

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Sango ran to the now stirring monk and tried to help him up as Kagome ran to where Inuyasha laid.

"INUYASHA!" Kagome cried flinging herself towards him.

"Kagome? Are you alright? She didn't hurt you did she?" questioned Inuyasha, even through the searing pain.

"Nonsense, look at yourself, you're in a worse condition than me…," answered Kagome, now kneeling next to him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you earlier," said the hanyou, "I guess I was sc-"

"It's alright, just as long as you're going to be okay." she replied quickly cutting the hanyou off before he said something he would regret.

Kagome was about to say something else, but she felt like she was being lifted from the collar of her school outfit and then tossed aside a couple of dozen feet. Inuyasha gasped as the girl demon appeared above him getting ready to cut Inuyasha limb to limb with the sharp-edged boomerang. Closing his eyes, he prayed. '_Oh dear gods, if I die right now, as a pathetic human, I just want Kagome to know that I tried…_'

He heard the demon give an unexpected shriek as she exclaimed, "THE KAZAANA!"

Tilting his head to where Sango and Miroku were, he saw the monk getting ready to use void in his left hand on the demon. Giving one quick glare at everyone, she turned quickly and ran away using her demonic speed.

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After the bat youkai had sped off, Miroku straighten up to his full height and walked Sango over to the stream, where they tried to wash the blood off her face and cleanse the wound. Kagome, who had been thrown for a distance, was trying to sit up now. '_Wow_,' she thought, '_I always thought that Miroku's void was pretty scary, but to scare off a demon like that…_' It was confusing to think about, even for Miroku, himself.

'_Many times have I used my void_,' thought the monk as he looked at his left hand, now covered with rosary beads, '_but none of the demons ever ran off like THAT… I wonder, why do bat youkai fear the void so much? She was anything but a weak youkai…_' Sitting by the campfire now, the monk crushed some herbs together; making a powder to put on Sango's wound to make it heal faster. The demon exterminator sat next to the monk, looking at him as he worked, she pondered, '_What is it that makes him think so deeply? Never have I seen such seriousness in his eyes out of battle since we first met_.' She blinked and her eyes went a bit bigger as she realized the houshi was looking back at her now. Blushing, she turned away as Kagome limped over to their camp.

Seeing the two together by the firelight like that, Kagome smirked as she thought what a cute couple they would make. Reaching for her huge, indestructible, yellow bag, she pulled out a couple of ointments and cloth bandages. She limped over to where her two overly-blushing friends were sitting and laid the treatment items by their feet, then she started back to where Inuyasha was.

As she had guessed, the hanyou had fallen unconscious from the pain. She didn't blame him though, it was tough for even her to stay awake and she was human all the time. Collapsing on the ground next to him, she looked up toward the heavens watching the moon fade away as the sun began to rise. '_Its__ so strange… why DID he turn human? Why can't he see the moon? What if he's just making up the part about not seeing it?_' Kagome sighed. She looked toward the unconscious hanyou next to her, noting his human ears. '_I hope this won't happen again, its going to slow down the hunt for the jewel shards, which means I'm going to have to stay longer and he's going to keep telling me how useless I am other than just a shard detector, then there's Kikyo…_' She frowned as the hanyou started stirring. Looking upwards again, she saw the sun peeking over the ridge of the forest. Once again, she felt the hanyou's demonic aura pulsating from the human next to her. She turned her head toward him again, as his raven-black hair started turning silver again and his ears went back up to the top of his head, making her want to scratch them.

The boy sat up, bringing a re-clawed hand to his head, trying to massage the pain out of his pounding skull. Then lifting his eyes to meet hers, Kagome asked him, "So… what happened?"


	3. I Gave Love and Recieved Hate in Return

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

**FadedMoon**

**Disclaimer:** If I wanted, I'd BUY Inuyasha from the person who made it… but unfortunately, I don't have the money, soooooooooo… who wants to donate to the _Buy Inuyasha For The Awesomest Person Fund_? (that btw, is ME!)

**Chapter 3**

**I Gave Love and Received Hate in Return**

Collapsing on the ground next to him, she looked up toward the heavens watching the moon fade away as the sun began to rise. '_Its strange… why DID he turn human? Why can't he see the moon? What if he's just making up about not seeing it?_' Kagome sighed. She looked toward the unconscious hanyou next to her, noting his human ears. '_I hope this won't happen again, its going to slow down the hunt for the jewel shards, which means I'm going to have to stay longer and he's going to keep telling me how useless I am other than just a shard detector, then there's Kikyo…_' She frowned as the hanyou started stirring. Looking up again, she saw the sun peeking through the trees of the forest. Once again, she felt the hanyou's demonic aura pulsating from the human next to her. She turned her head toward him again, as his raven-black hair started turning silver again and his ears went back up to the top of his head, making her want to scratch them.

The boy sat up, bringing a re-clawed hand to his head, trying to massage the pain out of his pounding skull. Then lifting his eyes to meet hers, Kagome asked him, "So… what happened?"

* * *

Looking away from the pleading expression that Kagome wore, he tried to pretend to examine any wounds or bruises on him. He heard a sigh escape from Kagome causing him to look up at her once more. 

"Inuyasha…" she said in almost a disappointed voice, "Please… tell me what happened. Tell me why that demon wanted to kill you, not me. Please?"

Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha was about to say something when his nose caught a scent that he had not been expecting to find out here. '_Kikyo__…?_' he thought, then he opened his mouth, "Kagome, I don't know why she attacked me. I don't know exactly why I became a human last night, but I promise you, I'll find out so I can continue to protect you."

The monk looked up from the fire where he and Sango were resting. "He'd do _more_ than just protect you," he stated with a perverted smile curling from his lips. Sango look up at him with a look of total horror and disgust, despite the bandages on her face, and she once again introduced Miroku to her Hiraikotsu, knocking him out with stars dancing around his head. Sango looked wearily toward Kagome and Inuyasha, "Maybe we should rest while we can? It's been a tiring night, so we can start later today…" she trailed off as she noticed the look that Kagome was giving Inuyasha. It was a cross between a warm loving smile and puppy-dog eyes. Inuyasha melted. How could he say no?

Standing, the half demon stretched and Kagome slowly got up as well. They walked back to the dying fire and Kagome got in a sleeping bag as Inuyasha sat down on the grass. With sleepy eyes, Kagome looked up at Inuyasha and said in a hardly audible whisper, "Arigato, Inuyasha-chan"

Blushing madly, Inuyasha looked away toward the rising sun. In no time at all, he heard the rhythmically breathing of the knocked out houshi and the two sleeping girls. Rising again, Inuyasha looked at his companions resting and yawned, '_Man… I AM tired. But I have to go see if that is actually Kikyo… No, actually I just want to see Kikyo…_' Silently, the dog boy crept away towards the woods, breathing deeply to try to keep the scent of his dead lover. As soon as he lost sight of the camp, he broke into a run towards the source of the smell.

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'_I can't believe I'm doing this… I can't imagine how much Kagome is going to hate me for doing this… wait… Why am I thinking of that girl?_' Inuyasha shot out of the mass of trees into a clearing. Looking around, he saw her. She looked beautiful, despite the fact that she was made out of a lump of clay and some old bones. The incarnation of Kagome was sitting in the middle of a field staring toward the heavens. '_She's so beautiful…_' Inuyasha drooled. Then he saw something that he had not expected, a tear formed in the corners of her eyes. She blinked once and the sparkling tear fell to the ground.

"Kikyo…" Inuyasha breathed. Looking toward him, Kikyo whispered back as if she was afraid to break the silence of the new day, "I've been waiting for you… Inuyasha" Inuyasha walked slowly toward her as if in a trance, not taking his eyes off her for one second. Raising a hand, Kikyo indicated the ground next to her for Inuyasha to sit. Inuyasha had thought otherwise though, he sat behind Kikyo cross-legged and pulled Kikyo onto his lap then wrapped his arms around her as if to protect her. He nuzzled her hair away from her ear and whispered to her, "Aishiteru Kikyo…"

He saw the tears forming in her eyes again and questioned her, "Why do you cry? I have known only hate and love from you, from what feeling do these tears come from?"

"I cannot decide Inuyasha," choked Kikyo, "I do not know if I love you or hate you. I long to love you the way I did when I was among the living, but now all I feel that I can do is hate you. I want to love you…" Inuyasha leaned over her shoulder and kissed her cheek. Turning her face toward him, Kikyo let her lips lock with his and deepening their kiss.

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**Back at the camp**

_Kagome's dream_

Kagome stood at the edge of a forest near a cliff as the sun was setting. She looked around and walked toward the edge of the cliff to get a better look at the forest that lay over a hundred meters below. As she neared the edge, she heard someone behind her, Inuyasha. She smiled as Inuyasha came near her and held her around her waist, pulling her close.

Sighing, she looked back toward the sunset, it was beautiful and she felt happy. Suddenly and rudely, she felt a gust of wind coming from behind her pushing her forward nearer to the edge. She turned around and saw Inuyasha turning human and behind him, coming out of the forest, was… Kikyo. She was glaring at Kagome and raised a hand pointing past Kagome whose back was facing the cliff now. Her hands instinctively clasped onto Inuyasha's clothes coming closer to him again, but when she looked up into his eyes, expecting a look of protectiveness, she saw him glaring at her with eyes full of hatred. Kagome gasped as Inuyasha grabbed her by her neck and lifted her off the ground. He walked closer to the side and flung her over the edge of the cliff. It seemed like an eternity as she fell for the first few seconds, she saw the hint of sorrow in Inuyasha's eyes though they were clouded full of hate that she knew possessed Kikyo. Then he turned and walked back toward Kikyo. Kagome continued to fall and the sunset and cliff disappeared from around her surroundings. Everything became pitch-black as she fell headfirst toward the never-ending abyss. She closed her eyes and tears formed in the corners of her eyes then flew off the tips of her eyelashes, making a trail of sparkling pearls falling after her.

After falling for what seemed almost like forever to her, she opened her eyes once again and tried to scream, but nothing came out of her throat. Now panicking, she thought frantically, '_Oh my god… someone… **ANYONE**… HELP! I don't want to be falling like this forever…_'

Like the answer to her prayer, a flash of silver flew before her as she felt herself being caught bridal style and squeezed her eyes tightly shut again. Then landing on the ground softly in the arms of her hero, she slowly opened her eyes to look around her. They were in an open field, full of lush green grass, flowers dotting the scenery, and trees growing around a clear blue lake. Then she turned her eyes toward the face of her savior. Tears had glazed over her eyes so she could only tell that he had silver hair and golden eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes again as he came in close…

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Kagome sat up suddenly as she realized that Miroku was snoring. Shaking her head, she got up and rolled him over onto his stomach so that his snores were muffled. She looked toward her best friend who was sleeping with Kirara curled up next to her. Turning to the trees, she scanned the limbs for her hanyou friend when the kitsune woke up. He yawned, stretching his small arms and legs, then looked up at Kagome and said, "Hiya Kagome-chan, what are you doing?" She looked down at the adorable kitsune and replied, "I'm looking for Inuyasha, but he doesn't seem to be here…"

Blinking up at her, he stated, "Yeah, I can't smell him, and I'm a DEMON." He gave her his best kawaii smile. Kagome, however, looked slightly worried. She sighed and assumed that he probably went hunting or do something that he usually did. She went and sat on the ground next to the campfire and tried to build the fire so that Inuyasha wouldn't yell at her for not doing anything and that they would be able to cook the food as soon as Inuyasha came back from hunting, if that was what he had actually went to go do. When the fire started burning warmly again, she looked up at the sky. The sun was getting close to directly above them, and Kagome tilted her head back, absorbing all the sun's warm and light on her face.

Closing her eyes, she thought about the dream she had… '_No, the nightmare I had. But then it kind of ended as a nice dream at the end… however, who was that person who had saved me?_' she pondered. '_Could it have been Inuyasha? No… he was the one who… who betrayed me…_' she frowned. '_But it was his human side… Could he have two different sides? Or was it just Kikyo's doing?_' She opened her eyes again to see something she never thought she would see at that moment…

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Should I end the chapter here? Should I? Should I? 

Yeah.. yeah.. yeah.. I know.. it'd be evil of me but I have homework and I'm such a bad person for procrastinating… then again… do yall even DESERVE me going on? –sigh- oh well, I suppose I'll keep going… just for a few more paragraphs…

btw.. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! I LOVE YALL SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!

I'll give you a gold star if you review TWICE! And a cookie if you review THREE times!

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Flying a little over the trees on the far side of the stream, she saw one of Kikyo's soul-stealing demons. Kagome blinked at the sight, then realizing where Inuyasha had REALLY gone, she mentally hit herself. Shippo looked up at Kagome when he felt her go stiff. Following her gaze, he also spotted the demon. "Oh…," was all he could say before Kagome got up and started off after the soul-stealer. She stopped for a second to grab her bow and quiver then broke off in a run to keep up with the flying demon, knowing that it would take her straight to its master, her incarnation. 

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After they had ended their kiss, Kikyo and Inuyasha sat there for a while in silence, both content for the way things were for that moment. A breeze blew by, and Kikyo started to get up. "Kikyo?" Inuyasha asked.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, but I can't be with you if you're divided between me and that so-called miko reincarnation of me."

"Kikyo-"

"No, I'm sorry. Not only that, though she's trying to get you to use the Shikon no Tama for some other purpose than to become a full demon, just as I wanted you to… but I sense that you will waste your wish on her… not on becoming what you had promised me you'd choose."

Inuyasha stopped. '_What I promised her? Does she mean becoming a human?_' He stood up as well, now facing Kikyo as he tried to consent with her. Coming close to her, he took the miko into a tight embrace and whispered in her ear, "There might be a way without the Jewel's power." Her only response was a sharp intake of a breath. Inuyasha sighed, perturbed by something that he had realized a while ago: Kagome accepted him for what he was, despite the fact that he was a hanyou, despised by humans and demons alike. But Kikyo, would she only love him the way Kagome did if he became human? Would she hate him for all eternity if he didn't?

"I must go now, the others should be awake by now," thought aloud the hanyou. He turned to go when Kikyo caught his arm, pulling him so that he faced her again and sealed a kiss upon his lips. Inuyasha sunk into the kiss, almost momentarily forgetting about everything around him when a soul-stealer demon whooshed by overhead with Kagome crashing out of the woods on its heels.

'_Oh crap… too late…_' he pulled away from Kikyo. "KAGOME!" Inuyasha called after her, but she was already running back into the forest. He gave one last glance at Kikyo and started his pursuit after the young miko. Kikyo crossed her arms as she watched the red back of Inuyasha disappeared into the forest. Slowly but surely, a smirk crept across the clay miko's lips as she raised a pale finger to her lips where the half demon kiss her. Then turning around, she headed back to the village.

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So REVIEW and I'll love you forever and ever until I get the next chapter up cos then I'll b discontent again 

SNEAKY PEAKY: sesshy comes in next chap!


	4. Unspoken Hurt Between Two Lovers

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

***~Faded_Moon~***

**Disclaimer: If you wanted to take this into legal terms, if I owned Inuyasha, I'd murder Kikyo (again and again), really throw Kagome over a cliff and make sure no one saves her, and lock Rin up in a coffin, then take Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru for myself!!! I know, I'm evil and selfish, but hey, can you blame me for thinking they're so irresistibly CUTE?! (okay okay, so that wasn't really legal terms…)**

Hey yall, keep in mind that this IS a Sess/Kag pairing fanfic, DON'T CLICK BACK YET YOU INU/KAG LOVERS!!! *gets on hands and knees* just to make yall happy (that's why I'm writing this isn't it?) I'm starting this off as a Inu/Kag pairing, but as the story goes on, the plot will change a bit and that's when I'll make the majority of people review happy (the sess/kag lovers) and NO, for all the hentai people out there that think this is gonna turn into a lemon like most of those Sess/Kag pairings… the closest thing to a lemon is gonna b Miroku's comments and groping  l P

On to the fun fun fun in the sun sun sun…

**Chapter 4**

**Unspoken Hurt Between Two Lovers**

Coming close to her, he took the miko into a tight embrace and whispered in her ear, "There might be a way without the Jewel's power." Her only response was a sharp intake of a breath. Inuyasha sighed, perturbed by something that he had realized a while ago: Kagome accepted him for what he was, despite the fact that he was a hanyou, despised by humans and demons alike. But Kikyo, would she only love him the way Kagome did if he became human? Would she hate him for all eternity if he didn't?

            "I must go now, the others should be awake by now," thought aloud the hanyou. He turned to go when Kikyo caught his arm, pulling him so that he faced her again and sealed a kiss upon his lips. Inuyasha sunk into the kiss, almost momentarily forgetting about everything around him when a soul-stealer demon whooshed by overhead with Kagome crashing out of the woods on its heels. 

            '_Oh crap… too late…_' he pulled away from Kikyo. "KAGOME!!!" Inuyasha called after her, but she was already running back into the forest. He gave one last glance at Kikyo and started his pursuit after the young miko. Kikyo crossed her arms as she watched the red back of Inuyasha disappeared into the forest. Slowly but surely, a smirk crept across the clay miko's lips as she raised a pale finger to her lips where the half demon kiss her. Then turning around, she headed back to the village.

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            Sango slowly stirred as she heard the loud crackling of the burning firewood. She opened her eyes to find that Miroku had somehow gotten his hands on her chest. Her right eye started twitching as her she raised her shaking right arm to grab the Hiraikotsu without getting up. The sleeping monk moved slightly causing him to give her a small squeeze. Sango's eyes got very big and she brought down the huge boomerang on the monk's head. Releasing his prisoners, the hentai awoke very groggily, clutching his pounding skull. He was about to get ready to whack back at whatever had hit him in his sleep, but all he saw was Sango clutching the folds of her kimono backing away from him slowly with the Hiraikotsu in hand, ready to strike. 

            "Oh… Ohayo, Sango! Where are you going?" questioned the monk putting on the most innocent look on his face.

            "YOU HENTAI MONK!!! YOU'RE EVEN LECHEROUS IN YOUR SLEEP!!" was the only response he got.

            A slight hint of a blush crept up to his cheeks as he remembered his dream. He hadn't known it was real, but then again it's happened before. He moved his right arm to scratch the back of his head as he tried to wave off the fact that he sleep-groped with his left. Sango just sat as far away as possible glaring daggers at him. But luckily, for the houshi, Shippo came out of nowhere and tugged on Sango's sleeve. Keeping her eyes on the lecherous monk, she lowered her head toward the young demon so that he could whisper something to her. 

            Miroku looked down at the ground and mentally hit himself for being so groping in his sleep; he didn't want to lose Sango's respect for him, which was very little already. He looked up in time to see Sango's eyes grow as big as oranges. Jumping up, grabbed her demon exterminator armor nearby then ran to the closest well-concealing bushes and changed. Miroku just stood there dumbfounded at Sango's actions and watched curiously, as Shippo walked over to Kirara and petted her. Sango shot out of the bushes and grabbed Miroku's arm and started running off towards the forest on the other side of the stream. 

            "Sango?" ask the confused monk. They stop for a second and the lecherous monk saw this as a perfect time for a bit more groping but as his hand traveled to a nice resting spot on Sango's butt, the exterminator looked gravely into Miroku's eyes and replied in a single word that made the monk's wondering hands stop in mid-air.

            "Kikyo"

            And they took off running again.

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            "Stupid little runt of a human… Inferior to my lord, but still… Agh! Bakayaro… Good for nothing piece of crap…" 

            A small green toad youkai that everyone knows and hates, forced himself out of a bush that he had previously been caught in. The annoying excuse for a youkai landed flat on his face on the forest floor. He stood up and turned around to check for any permanent damages. On his butt, he found that he had small pricks adorning his yukata. 

            He groaned, hoping his master would not hear, but unfortunately he did.

            "Jaken, you wouldn't happen to be mumbling about anything behind my back now would you?" Sesshoumaru eyed the despicable creature. A small human girl ran up to the inu youkai with a big grin plastered all over her face. She tugged lightly on Sesshoumaru's pant leg, making him look down at the small ningen. 

            "He called Rin a 'stupid little runt of a human' and a 'bakayaro' and a 'good for nothing piece of crap' then he groaned about abusing" the small girl offered cheerfully. Sesshoumaru sighed and looked at his servant again, this time with a glint of anger in his eyes. Jaken took note of the glint and bowed down so he was as close to the ground as he could get. Out of nowhere, Rin popped up right next to the groveling toad and asked, "What's a 'bakayaro'?" with the most kawaii smile on her face (^-^) 

            Jaken looked up and screamed. "WHAT THE?!?! WHERE ARE YOU COMING FROM?!?!" he panicked. '_If this stupid ningen keeps that up, I'm going to die from a heart attack!!' He flew off the ground and landed on his buttocks again, forcing the pricks in deeper and causing his eyes to cross in pain._

            "JAKEN! Calm yourself, she is only a child and she can't kill you, unless you prove yourself THAT weak." Said Sesshoumaru while giving a death glare at his pathetic servant. '_Gods… will he die soon?? PLEASE?_' Then with the change in the direction of the wind, his nose picked up a new smell… '_So it has begun…_' he smirked to himself. '_I think it is time I paid my hanyou brother a visit_' 

            "Jaken," he said with a slightly dangerous unemotional voice, "take Rin to the nearest village and stay there for a while. It is almost winter, anyhow. I will come for you once I have attended to my business." And with that, he left toward the part of his lands known as Inuyasha's forest.

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            Kagome flew over the undergrowth of the forest, hot tears blurring her eyes. '_Gosh… even after all this time… Why do I still believe everything he says?!_' she argued with herself while she ran. She could still sense him though, and he was gaining… fast. She didn't want to be caught yet though. She didn't want to confront him. Panicking, she ran harder; trying to put as much distance between them, but the hanyou still was faster. 

            "SIT!" Kagome cried, but then she herself tripped over an unexpected root. She landed on her hand and knees, but she had two long cuts, one from her mid-forearm to her bicep and one across her shin. Blood dripped out as she struggled to get on her feet again. She heard cursing coming from behind her when suddenly, Sango and Miroku came crashing through some trees on her left. Pulling Kagome up, Miroku hurriedly bandaged her wounds as Sango watched Inuyasha struggle to get up. 

            "Kagome…" Sango indicated Inuyasha.

            "SIT!" the trio calmed down a bit as they heard the familiar cursing in the distance.

            After having finish treating Kagome's wounds, they started off again, this time a bit slower, and also, a certain hanyou stopped chasing them, now that Kagome had company. He slowly walked a several meters behind them; he knew that he would have to avoid most of them tonight. 

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            Back at the camp that noon, Inuyasha was up in a tree brooding as Kagome, Sango, Shippo, and Miroku sat on the forest floor deciding what to do.

            "Inuyasha can might still have a certain… _danger_, if we stay out here," commented the houshi.

            "And Kagome has kind of lost a bit a blood from those cuts" added Sango. Shippo sniffed from where he sat on Kagome's lap.

            "Inuyasha? What say you? Shall we return to Kaede's village?" questioned the monk and the hanyou's response was a low growl followed by grumbling. 

            "Do what you want." Inuyasha raised his head a bit, he sensed a soul-stealer nearby and he knew that Kikyo would follow him anyhow. He jumped down from his tree and started walking towards the village as the rest of the group scrambled to gather their things and follow. 

            They arrived at Kaede's village near late afternoon. Inuyasha had not spoken a word since they left their camp and Kagome had spoken to no one but Shippo. The demon exterminator and the houshi knew very well that the two had much tension between them two, and it was not good tension at all, but they both also had the very strong urge to beat the living and dead crap out of Inuyasha for hurting Kagome like that. They entered Kaede's hut together and sat around as Shippo, Sango, Miroku, and Kagome explained what had happened the last night. They had conveniently left out the part about Kikyo, but Kaede figured as well. Why else would there be so much silence between the miko and hanyou? 

            Later, after eating, Sango and Kagome went to wash up at a hot spring nearby and Miroku took this time to confront the still-brooding Inuyasha. 

            "Inuyasha… you know very well that you have hurt Lady Kagome, yet you do nothing?" 

            *mumbling*

            The monk sighed, " I cannot help you then. But what if- what if you turn human again?"

            "I DON'T KNOW!" bursted the now-angry hanyou.

            "Then I trust you to fix this. Gods help you if you don't…" and with that he left to go greet the girls who had returned from their bathing. Kaede came out of her hut and walked over to the group and handed Kagome some herbs for healing her cuts. 

            The sun then began to set and along with that came everyone's gasps. Inuyasha felt himself being drained of power once again just as he had hoped for and feared at the same time. They retreated into Kaede's hut as he felt his claws retracting and his ears traveling down. Once settled in her hut, Kaede was the first to speak.

            "So it is true…"

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SO? SO? SO? Whatcha think?? whatcha think?? REVIEW PLEASE???? I'll try to respond the next chap. I'm not too good at that tho, but I'll try!! Pleaseeeee reviewwww!!! I need to know if yall hate me for damaging Kagome's beautiful skin!!! Sowwie its kinda short… but hey! Its like 4 in the morn! X.x

**Sneaky Peaky: Sesshoumaru knows something that you don't knoooo!!! And its not what color your panties are!!! Or where your chocolate bar is!!! (I swear I don't know about that either) ^-^ BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA R&R to find out!!!**


	5. Running Into The Arms That Were Never Op...

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

***~Faded_Moon~***

**Disclaimer: Alright!!! I got it! I give YOU a penny and you give me 10 times that amount. Then I give you the amount I have and you give me 10 times THAT amount. Then I give you that amount that I now have and you give me 10 times that amount. And this goes on and on until we have enough money to buy Inuyasha!!! =D *coff coff* I mean **_I_** have enough money, mwehehehehe…**

Oh yeah, I keep forgetting to tell yall, I found a beta reader (that's what its called right?) yeah, w.e. I found one of 'em. Thanks to everyone that offered to do it for me though!! I really really really really really really really really appreciate it!!! (i.o.w. I love you!!!!!!!!!!) *sniffles*

PEOPLE KEEP REVIEWING!! Tell me what YOU want to read, and that's what I'll write! ^-^ And THANK YOU ALL if yall already did review!!! I really appreciate it! (i.o.w. I LOVE YOU ALLLL!!!!!!)

**Chapter 5**

**Running Into The Arms That Were Never Open**

            After eating, Sango and Kagome went to wash up at a hot spring nearby and Miroku took this time to confront the still-brooding Inuyasha. 

            "Inuyasha… you know very well that you have hurt Lady Kagome, yet you do nothing?" 

            *mumbling* The monk sighed.

            "I cannot help you then. But what if- what if you turn human again?"

            "I DON'T KNOW!" exploded the now-angry hanyou.

            "Then I trust you to fix this. Gods help you if you don't…" and with that he left to go greet the girls who had returned from their bathing. Kaede came out of her hut and walked over to the group and handed Kagome some herbs for healing her cuts. 

            The sun then began to set and along with that came everyone's gasps. Inuyasha felt himself being drained of power once again just as he had hoped for and feared at the same time. They retreated into Kaede's hut as he felt his claws retracting and his ears traveling down. Once settled in her hut, Kaede was the first to speak.

            "So it is true…"

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            Inuyasha glared at the ground, as if he were going to punish it for knowing his secret. He shifted uncomfortably under the intense stares of Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kaede. Although he was not a half-demon anymore, he could still sense that Kagome was looking elsewhere. He had to explain to her about his visit with Kikyo, but what would he say? He had run out of excuses for his actions. 

            "Inuyasha needs to be guarded tonight." Inuyasha looked up at the voice. It was Kagome. He just gaped at her and she returned his stare with an ice-cold eyes. 

            '_Man, I didn't know I affected her THAT much. Why is she looking at me with those cold eyes? Its almost like Kikyo's…_' he lost his trail of thoughts when he remembered his promise to Kikyo that he would find her again that night. He blinked. '_Wait… there's something else there… pity? Sorrow?_' he sharply took in a breath. '_Love…?!_'

            Inuyasha looked away as Kagome continued, "If any youkai come here, he won't be able to fight or protect himself."

            '_Pro… Protect… my- myself? AGH!! I hate being human! Feh. Stupid weak human form! I need NO protecting!!!'_

            "That is true, Lady Kagome." Miroku agreed.

            '_NANI?!?! DON'T AGREE WITH HER!!! I DON'T NEED TO BE PROTECTED!!!'_

            "Maybe we could take turns being on guard?" suggested Sango.

            '_IIE!! IIE!! IIE!! IIE!!!'_

            "In the meanwhile, we need to figure out what is causing this," sighed the overly exhausted young miko, "Kaede-sama? Have you any ideas about what is happening?"

            '_FEH!__ FEH I tell you!! I can take care of MYSELF!!!'_

            "Indeed, this is most unusual…" Inuyasha stopped fidgeting and arguing inside his mind to listen to what the elderly miko had to say. "I have never seen something like this happen, basically because this kind of… _problem_… doesn't happen."

            Inuyasha's eyes squinted into a short glare when she emphasized the word 'problem'. Feh-ing to himself, he shook his head, but looked up again as Kaede continued, "As of now, I am considering that it is a spell."

            "FEH! You old hag! If it was a spell then I would have known, besides I wouldn't let any old hag-of-a-witch cast any damned spell on me!!"

            "Inuyasha, it was just a consideration, but what your companions say is true, ye DOES need protecting and we need to find out what is wrong with ye." Kaede stopped as the group agreed silently, then said, "So… Inuyasha, I do not think ye will sleep much tonight."

            With that, she rose and went into the other room then came back with a large package wrapped in deerskin. Beaming, she set it down in front of the group and announced, "THIS will help us solve this mystery." She tugged on the leather rope binding the package. The package blew up, causing a great amount of smoke. The teenagers tried to beat away the smoke in a frantic action to see what was happening and breathe clean air. The smoke cleared up a bit and the group could now see that the items of the package were arranged in a linear fashion and that the package had many herbs, different lengths of vials, varieties of prayer beads, and a several thick scrolls. 

            The youngsters gaped at the multitude of supplies in front of them as overly beaming, old miko instructed, "THIS is the _Spell-for-Spell 1497!!!" [_A/N: 500 years ago right? Tell me if ya think my math is horrible_] Kaede explained to the confused group, "The villagers bought this for me, such kind people." She turned to the human Inuyasha, whose eyes were twitching and stated excitedly, "Come on Inuyasha, we better start testing you if we want to find out what is going on." She smiled giddily as she grabbed some herbs and started grinding them in a silver bowl, which obviously came as a bonus to the '_Spell-for-Spell 1497_' because of the inscriptions on the side. The human Inuyasha started turning greenishly sick with fear, noticing how Kaede's face looked like it was her 6th birthday party and her father had just bought her a pretty, pink pony._

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            Sesshoumaru scanned the forest ground for signs of his brother as he flew overhead. The wind direction changed slightly, carrying the scent of Inuyasha, but not the regular Inuyasha, a human Inuyasha… mixed with something else… '_How many years has it been now, Little Brother?_' the inu-youkai grimaced to himself, '_How many years has it been since I last saw you human?' _

~**FlashBack**~ 

A small child version of Sesshoumaru is playing with a toddler form of Inuyasha in the garden of a large palace. Sesshoumaru stands at about three and a half feet and is wearing a white silk haori with dark blue sakura flowers dotting the hem of his sleeves and bottom edge. The child Sesshoumaru bends over, grabs a purple ball off the garden floor, and looks toward his little half-brother standing a couple of feet away. The toddler is wearing a mini light blue haori and stands two and a fourth feet tall. Sesshoumaru smiles and lightly bounces the purple orb to his little brother, who misses catching it and runs after the ball that is rolling away, laughing his innocent childish laugh. The two play this game for a while as the sun begins to set. Toddler Inuyasha has the ball and throws it toward his older brother with all the strength his little body could muster, which was still quite much considering he _is_ a hanyou, and the purple sphere soars far over Sesshoumaru's head. The elder brother smirks and sees this as a perfect opportunity to practice his ability to fly that his father taught him recently. He takes off the ground with demonic speed and grabs the ball out of midair. Landing on the ground, he sees his younger brother squatting on the ground covering his ears. Sesshoumaru examines his half brother again, '_His ears are gone… and his hair…_' Sesshoumaru watches intently as his sibling becomes human. Then, as mini human Inuyasha got up, Sesshoumaru looks toward the sky where the sun was setting over the ridge of the forest. 

"Come on, aniki," persists the small boy, "I can still play!" Sesshoumaru blinks toward his younger brother and tosses the ball to him again. This time, the toddler moves too slow to catch the ball and it bounces off his head. The child Sesshoumaru laughs, "Inuyasha, you stupid human. You move too slow!" as his half brother rubs his head in pain.

Inuyasha stops, "But okaa-san said that I'm special because I can change into a human. Okaa-san said that it's good because I have a human heart just like okaa-san." Sesshoumaru laughs.

"Don't be stupid, ototo. Being human is being weak! Look at yourself, you can't even move as fast anymore!"

Inuyasha lowers his head so that his bangs hide his dark violet, almost black eyes, "Demo… okaa-san wouldn't lie to me…"

            Sesshoumaru continues to laugh at Inuyasha. Slowly, tears start welling up in Inuyasha's eyes and he starts wailing. Sesshoumaru tries to hide his snickers as Inutaisho runs out into the garden with Inuyasha's mother following not too far behind. 

            "Inuyasha, son, why are you crying?" Inutaisho eyes Sesshoumaru nearby trying to suppress his laughter, "Sesshoumaru?"

            "Aniki said that being human is being weak…" the toddler sniffs as child Sesshoumaru looks at him with a smirk playing on his lips.

            "Its true, you can't even go as fast as you used to, you're pathetic."

            "Sesshoumaru! You will NOT speak to your brother like that!" Inutaisho whirls on Sesshoumaru.

            "But otaa-san… its tr-"

            "I will hear no more of this." He grabs Sesshoumaru's right arm and proceeds to drag him back inside the palace. Inuyasha's mother approaches the sniffling toddler and wraps her arms around Inuyasha comfortingly.

            "My Lord, please, don't be hard on Sesshoumaru. I think he-" she stops at the look on Inutaisho's face. She sighs and wipes Inuyasha's tear-streaked face as Inutaisho continues to drag in Sesshoumaru. The garden door closes on Sesshoumaru's last image of Inuyasha's mother holding her son in her arms, comforting the small human child, in garden bathing in the moonlight.

            ~**End Flashback**~

            '_I__ never was allowed to see be anywhere near you or see you when you turned human after that…' Sesshoumaru sighed. '__There was so much innocence back then……'_

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            Rin and Jaken finally reached the outskirts of a small village. They strolled by several huts closer to the edge of the village, looking for a place to purchase food. As they neared the main cluster of huts, the two came upon a group of small children around Rin's age. Looking at them with longing, Rin reminisced about how long it had been since she had last seen and been with children her age. To her surprise, one of a couple of the children noticed her. 

            "Hello. Do you want to play with us?" one of the small boys asks. Rin looked at Jaken with puppy-dog eyes, pleading him to let her go play. Not being able to resist those eyes, Jaken reluctantly agreed. He noticed a place nearby where he could get food and indicated that as the place he would be at if she needed anything. Rin smiled her biggest kawaii smile, "Arigato, Jaken-sama!" and ran off to play.

            After playing for a while, the children's mothers started coming out for them, calling them to come home to eat dinner. The children that Rin became friends with so fast started heading home. Rin eventually was left standing there alone as her last newfound friend left for home. 

            "Coming, okaa-san!" Rin watched her friend run toward an older woman who caught her son in her arms and took him inside. Her face showed nothing but loneliness and wanting. Slowly, she dragged her feet back to Jaken's side. The two started for a vacant area to sleep. 

            After having set up a small camp, Jaken started to doze off when he noticed the small girl just sitting there.

            "Rin? What's wrong?" he questioned her with a bit of curiosity. She raised her sad eyes from the glowing embers.

            "What's an okaa-san?"

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            Miroku, Sango, Kagome, and Shippo were all sleeping huddled up in the far side of Kaede's hut, as far away from Inuyasha as they could. Kaede slept in the next room, muttering something about incantations in her sleep. Inuyasha, however, sat alert directly across the room from his companions. He winced as he remembered how Kaede made him swallow, eat, and apply all kinds of horrible-smelling herbs and potions. He even cringed at the thought of how he was knocked out by the last potion he had to take. It had smelled like rotting dung with dabs of burnt hair in it. Inuyasha shook the thought out of his head before he lost his dinner, again. He looked out of the doorway that was just a few feet away from his left side. The moon was starting to dip over into the sea of forests again as Inuyasha stood, '_Kuso__! I only have a few more hours…' He walked quickly to the doorway, but looked back at Kagome's sleeping figure. _

            '_Please forgive me, Kagome,_' the prayed as he went back to her and kissed her forehead lightly then walked out of the hut ever so swiftly. The sleeping miko's response was only snuggling closer under she blankets and slightly curling her perfect lips into a warm smile. He broke into a run as soon as he had crept out of the sleeping village. He couldn't help but think of Kagome as he ran.

            '_Kagome… my angel, my true… friend… She demands nothing from me but to let her stay by my side. What kind of love is that?_' He stopped for a few minutes to catch his breath then get a look around. He had to find her soul stealers, what other way was there to find a dead miko in a forest that large without a good nose or ears? 

'_Kagome, if only I had met you first… things would be different… I cannot return the full love you are giving me… CHIKUSO! I can't even protect you like I promised. I guess Fate has something else plan for you. All I can do now is help you find that path and get you to follow it.' A shining streak of white hovering above the trees caught his eye, and silently, he made his way toward the girl that had claimed his life so long ago… _

'_Now… Kikyo…'_

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FOR ALL OF YOU THAT DIDN'T GET THAT: "_I guess Fate has something else plan for you. All I can do now is help you find that path and get you to follow it_"   THIS IS MAJOR **_FORESHADOWING_!!! FORE-SHADOW-ING!!!! ****FORESHADOWING!!!! _FORESHADOWING!!! FORESHADOWING!!!! Yea, I cannot express it enough… anyhow, just to make sure yall got that… back to the story…_**

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            A figure of a girl clad in a red and white kimono stood at the edge of a clearing in the middle of the forest staring up at the starry sky. Inuyasha clambered through the last of the undergrowth and found himself in that same clearing, the girl was across the field with her back to him though. A small, gentle breeze started traveling across the small field, lifting parts of Kikyo's hair into the air and blowing against her kimono, creating a wave effect. Inuyasha wanted take a deep breath of the air that brushed by him and his dead love, but he remembered that he had a human nose and she smelt of nothing more than earth and bones. 

            "Took you longer than I thought…" She turned and gasped. "Inu-Inuyasha?" she couldn't believe what she saw, Inuyasha in his human form… when the moon was out. 

           "If I am imagining this, or I am dreaming, wake me up now. It is cruel to torture a soul like that." she breathed. Inuyasha walked closer to her and she took a few steps back and placed a cold hand over her chest, where her heart would be if she had one. He came within an arms reach of her and took her into his warm arms, holding her close to his chest. She gasped, '_It really is him, but how..?'_

            "The Shikon no Tama? Is it compl-"

            "No, Kikyo. This is something else; I believe it might be a spell. I've been changing into a human during the night even though the moon is out." He paused and looked up at where the moon was supposed to be, "Even though I can't see it myself."

            Kikyo buried her face into his chest, "I don't understand, Inuyasha. What are you trying to say? You are hanyou by day and human by night? It doesn't make sense."

            "Nothing makes sense anymore… but this…" with that, he kissed her, full and long, and the two were lost in their own world.

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            ~*~*~Back at the camp~*~*~

[_Kagome's dream]_

            Once again, Kagome stood at the edge of a forest near a cliff as the sun was setting. She looked around and walked toward the edge of the cliff to get a better look at the forest that lay over a hundred meters below. As she neared the edge, she heard someone behind her, Inuyasha. She smiled as Inuyasha came near her and held her around her waist, pulling her close. 

            Sighing, she looked back toward the sunset, it was beautiful and she felt happy. Suddenly and rudely, she felt a gust of wind coming from behind her pushing her forward nearer to the edge. She turned around and saw Inuyasha turning human and behind him, coming out of the forest, was… Kikyo. She was glaring at Kagome and raised a hand pointing past Kagome whose back was facing the cliff now. Her hands instinctively clasped onto Inuyasha's clothes coming closer to him again, but when she looked up into his eyes, expecting a look of protectiveness, she saw him glaring at her with eyes full of hatred. Kagome gasped as Inuyasha grabbed her by her neck and lifted her off the ground. He walked closer to the side and flung her over the edge of the cliff. It seemed like an eternity as she fell for the first few seconds, she saw the hint of sorrow in Inuyasha's eyes though they were clouded full of hate that she knew possessed Kikyo. Then he turned and walked back toward Kikyo. Kagome continued to fall and the sunset and cliff disappeared from around her surroundings. Everything became pitch-black as she fell headfirst toward the never-ending abyss. She closed her eyes and tears formed in the corners of her eyes then flew off the tips of her eyelashes, making a trail of sparkling pearls after her.

            After falling for what seemed almost like forever to her, she opened her eyes once again and tried to scream, but nothing came out of her throat. Now panicking, she thought frantically, '_Oh my god… someone… **ANYONE… HELP!! I don't want to be falling like this forever…'**_

            Like the answer to her prayer, a flash of silver flew before her as she felt herself being caught bridal style and squeezed her eyes tightly shut again. Then landing on the ground softly in the arms of her hero, she slowly opened her eyes to look around her. They were in an open field, full of lush green grass, flowers dotting the scenery, and trees growing around a clear blue lake. Then she turned her eyes toward the face of her savior. Tears had glazed over her eyes so she could only tell that he had silver hair and golden eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes again as he came in close and kissed her. Kagome opened her eyes, causing her tears to fall, and he wiped away her tears with the palm of his soft and gentle hand. Her conscious gasped. '_Sesshoumaru?!?!_' 

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            Kagome's eyes snapped open. '_Sesshoumaru…' she looked wildly around for any sign of Inuyasha's rivaled half brother. '__So he's the one that saved me…' She calmed down a bit when she saw her best friend, Kirara, Shippo, and the pervert monk sleeping peacefully nearby. Kagome raised an eyebrow when she saw that the lecher was no more than a few feet away from Sango, and his hand was even closer by two feet. Gently, she reached over to where Sango rested her Hiraikotsu and placed the oversized boomerang between Sango and Miroku's lecherous and wandering hand. She settled back down into a more comfortable position again, then she noticed it: Inuyasha was gone… _

            '_He probably went outside to sleep in a tree or something… that's usually him…_' but something nagged at her in the back of her mind. She closed her eyes as parts of her dream flashed through her mind: Standing at a cliff… a sun set… Inuyasha turned human… then…

 '_Kikyo…'_

She jumped up and ducked quickly out of the hut. It was still early in the morning… almost dawn… Once again, she armed herself with her bow and arrows and started in direction she felt the hanyou's demonic aura pulsating and where she her soul reached for its missing part. She ran and ran, who knew what Kikyo might be doing to Inuyasha… worse, what she already did to him? Kagome only knew one thing: she had to save Inuyasha before Kikyo got to him and dragged him to hell with her.

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After following her instincts for the past ten minutes, she finally came upon the section of the forest that was a couple of hundred meters away from the Bone-Eaters Well. Kagome's eyes scanned the area for any signs of Inuyasha or Kikyo, and not surprisingly enough, there were some shimmers of light in the dim forest. Kikyo's Soul Stealers. She started toward the clearing between the trees, running faster than ever before. Just as she approached the clearing, she called out to Inuyasha, whose back was to her now, and jumped the last of the undergrowth to land into the field. Suddenly, just as she was in midair, she felt as if the whole world froze for a split second, and then fast-forwarded to the present again. Kagome stood up and looked around, confused. 

'_Inuyasha?' she looked behind her, Inuyasha and Kikyo stood in the clearing, Kikyo's back to her. Inuyasha was still holding Kikyo and looked as if he had not even heard her call. Kagome stared in disbelief, and then silently, she crept toward the field again. Again, she felt the strange sensations and when she turned around, the hanyou's back was to her again. Suspicious now, she closed her eyes and focused her miko energy and felt around her with her aura._

'_A barrier…' she opened her eyes and looked into the field with a look of total helplessness. She held out a hand slowly and just as she touched the barrier, it disappeared. '__What am I going to do?' she retracted her hand and looked around her for some sort of solution when an idea dawned upon her. _

'_My arrows?__ They might work… but… it might not if its miko energy against miko energy.' She grabbed an arrow from her quiver, held the silver tip as if it were a knife, and started hacking away at the barrier. Scratches started appearing on the surface of the barrier and Kagome smiled in satisfaction then started working faster and hacked harder. _

Meanwhile, Kikyo stood there in Inuyasha's arms, neither of them wanting to let go in fear of losing each other again. She had heard her, Kagome calling out Inuyasha's name in a frantic search to get to him. Kikyo smiled, it was a good thing she put up the barrier after Inuyasha joined her. But now, Kikyo watched out of the corner of her eye as Kagome hacked away at the barrier's surface. Even though Inuyasha could not hear or see her through the barrier, Kagome now proposed a possible threat of breaking through if she kept up that speed, though the dead miko doubted that she had the energy to do so. Kikyo closed her eyes and mentally called out to her soul stealers to carry out her next part of her plan. The silver youkai silently glided out of the field and its surrounding barrier to a nearby cavern with a cursed beast lying dormant within it. 

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oOoOoOo.. WHAT?! Huh what?!?!?! This is probably gonna b the longest chapter I'll ever type… but it might not, depends on how many ideas I have :D soooo yeah, review review review!!! I'm expecting at least 10 reviews from this chapter (though that may b much considering its me… :\ ) if I don't get that amount then… well, I'm not going on until I get 10 more reviews!!! HO YEA I'M THREATENING YOU!!!! So HMPH!!! 

October 21, 2003 is my 14 ½ bday!!!! So review please?? :D???


	6. Fight Then Flight To The Well

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

***~Faded_Moon~***

**Disclaimer: October 21, 2003 is my 14 ½ bday!!! Get Inuyasha for me!!!! And a buncha reviews!!!! (I.O.W. I don't own Inuyasha or the pig from Princess Mononoke)**

Yannoe, I'm tired of waiting so I decided to just go ahead and update… what can I say? I love to write!! 

I just kinda noticed, despite the fact that I'm trying to keep the characters, well, in character, with the way my story goes, certain people just hafta be… nicer. Like for example, last chapter, Sesshy was being nicer to Inuyasha when he was little and didn't make fun of him cause he was a hanyou, rather he made fun of him when he was human. Also, there isn't that much 'competition' between Rin and Jaken (sp: Jakken?) Jaken acts more like an older brother to Rin. Most of all, Kikyo hasn't tried to kill anyone yet, other than Kagome, and she's not even doing it herself. Gomen for all the OOCness

Btw, if you are offended by the use of the word 'damned', please keep in mind its not suppose to be used as foul language, rather it is used as an adjective. In example, the movie: _Queen of the Damned, the word 'damned' describes the people/vampires. But if I get enough people complaining about it, I'll be more than happy to go back and change the word to something else. _

On to the real reason you're here……

**Chapter 6**

**The Fight Then Flight To The Well**

Meanwhile, Kikyo stood there in Inuyasha's arms, neither of them wanting to let go in fear of losing each other again. She had heard her, Kagome calling out Inuyasha's name in a frantic search to get to him. Kikyo smiled, it was a good thing she put up the barrier after Inuyasha joined her. But now, Kikyo watched out of the corner of her eye as Kagome hacked away at the barrier's surface. Even though Inuyasha couldn't hear her or see her through the barrier, Kagome now proposed a possible threat of breaking through if she kept up that speed, though the dead miko doubted that she had the energy to do so. Kikyo closed her eyes and mentally called out to her soul stealers to carry out her next part of her plan. The silver youkai silently glided out of the field and its surrounding barrier to a nearby cavern with a cursed beast lying dormant within it. 

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            The soul stealers swarmed around the beast, a boar youkai, waking it to do Kikyo's bidding: attack and kill Kagome. The giant youkai arose, blood dripping from its tusks and mouth and started after the soul stealers. (_A/N: the boar youkai looks kinda like the boar demon from Princess Mononoke, but without all the black squiggly things shooting out of it._) The damned beast gained speed, going faster and faster, and was already charging long before he saw his target, a young girl in green and white hacking away at what seemed like nothing.

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            Kagome was getting tired, she had already made two long cuts into the barrier, but it still wasn't enough to break through. Sweat dripped down from her face and blisters were forming on her hands from gripping the arrow shaft. 

            '_Inuyasha…_' she pleaded with her mind '_Inuyasha, why don't you know that I am here?_' 

            She looked toward the sky; the sun would be rising soon, would Kikyo release Inuyasha then or would she drag him off to hell? Kagome panicked, how would she know? She had to break through, somehow…… 

            Just as she started picking up her pace again, she felt a dark aura coming. She never felt a presence like that before. Kagome scanned the area around her. There was definitely something coming, she looked back at the field where Inuyasha and Kikyo stood. Somehow, Kikyo and the dark aura heading toward her were linked, but she couldn't quite figure out how.

            '_Kikyo… this is your doing._' She stopped and shoved the arrow back into the quiver and slung it onto her back. Then restringing her bow, she backed away from the barrier then charged toward it, focusing all her miko power on breaking through the barrier. It worked, but it still wasn't enough. A thin crack appeared between the first two. If she charged at it again and she might be able to break through, but before she could, it came.

            The huge boar youkai appeared out of nowhere and charged straight into Kagome, sending her a couple of dozen meters away from the barrier. Kagome slowly tried to stand, her body bruised all over now. She carefully notched an arrow in the string, however, the demon was already charging again. She shot it directly at the boar, and it would have hit it had it not been for the black tentacle-like arms that shot out of its body (_A/N: those black squiggly things) and blocked it. Her purifying arrow had cut through the tentacle, but as soon as it hit the forest floor, it dissolved into smaller tentacles and slithered back to its main body. Kagome gasped at this, there was no way for her to defeat this beast by herself. She looked toward the field with the barrier and gasped again, the barrier had broken! There was a sizable hole in the side of the barrier where she had working._

            '_The boar youkai must have broken through it on accident._' She thought to herself. However, when she took a step toward the field, the boar youkai came between her and the field, obviously guarding it. She backed away again and the boar youkai advanced, this time ready to attack her until she lay dead on the forest grounds. Kagome turned her heel and ran, what else could she do? 

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            Softly, the Lord of the Western Lands landed on the ground a few feet from the famed Boner Eater's Well. He looked around, he could smell his half brother somewhere near with his dead wench. It was bad enough that Inuyasha already had human blood running through his veins, but considering mating with a human was more than what Sesshoumaru could bear. 

            "Disgusting," he spat. "The great inu-youkai blood tainted with human blood… pathetic and disgusting…"

            Then he perked up his ears, he had heard someone running from something giving the chase. Sesshoumaru tilted his head back so he could get a better whiff of the air. A smile played across his mind, his brother's other wench that was alive was running from a boar youkai. Even better, they were headed for his direction. 

            '_To kill or not to kill…? That's never really been the question, but…_' he narrowed his eyes toward the darkness of the forest. A dark shadow was advancing towards him through the trees. There were occasional streaks of bright purple light that flew toward the massive darkness only to be consumed by it. He took another whiff of the air that blew from the direction of the dark shadow and the purple light towards him. The scent of fear rode upon the wind, covering up most of the other smells other than one other that he had not felt since his mother died and his father took a human as his new mate: hurt from betrayal. 

            '_At least she's making a stand before she goes under. It'll make her death look much less pathetic when I kill her._' He took out his whip and got into a fighting stance as the miko and the boar demon shot out of the thick lining of trees. '_Then again, I should ask her about what Inuyasha has been doing since the spell awakened, first, before killing her. It makes things so much easier.'_

            He stood between the girl with the demon chasing her and the well. He noticed that her eyes were shut tight as she ran.

            '_She's been running blindly? I wonder what brought her here… Oh, another question added to the list._' He smirked inwardly as the boar demon noticed him with his whip out. The giant demon jumped toward him and landed between him and the girl to try to attack the inu-youkai, believing that he was going to protect the girl Kikyo commanded him to kill. 

            '_Bad mistake, Pig_.' The whip cracked and the boar demon was cut into two and fell dead on the ground. 

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Kagome, who had just realized she was running towards the well, saw the boar youkai jump in the air and thought it was going to try to stop her from getting to the well, notched her last arrow and shot it. A whip cracked and the boar fell, just as her arrow passed through the torn body and embedded itself in the owner of the whip. 

            Kagome stopped as she heard a scream come from a person behind the carcass of the boar. She gasped as she realized that she was not the one that had slain the beast, rather she had shot her rescuer. Hurriedly, she limped to the other side of the massive beast to save whomever she shot. 

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            Tetsusaiga started to vibrate violently. Inuyasha gasped and looked down at the blade at his side. Something was wrong and he could feel it. Searching his mind, he reached down for the rusted katana, and then realized something.

            '_Sesshoumaru…_' he looked back up at Kikyo who had backed away from him. She watched the blade as it shook and sent off a strange aura calling for its brother blade. "Kikyo…" he started, then without explaining the rest, he turned and left. The clay miko regained her senses and realized that her minion had not returned yet, but neither had her reincarnation. Sighing, she gave a wave of her hand and the barrier disappeared.

            '_She's probably going to die soon, anyhow,_' she shrugged and watched Inuyasha head back the way he came. Just as the hanyou reached the edge of the clearing where it met the forest, the sun peeked its head over the land of Feudal Japan, and once again, the boy turned into his natural form. '_At least he's not searching for her because he still thinks she's asleep… too bad, he'll get to her too late by the time he realizes that she's gone._' With a smirk, she turned and left with her soul stealers. 

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            Kagome froze. Her breathing became irregular as her chest felt constricted. Her eyes grew about twice at large. All she could do was stand there and stare. Laying on the ground in front of her, next to the Bone Eater's Well, laid the Lord of the Western Lands, writhing in pain. Out of his chest, just above his abdomen, protruded her purifying arrow that was lodged somewhat deeply. Kagome could only watch in horror as Sesshoumaru coughed up blood and his face paled. The sight of blood on silk white shook her out of her trance.

            '_Oh my gosh… I- I… I just… p-purified… Sesshoumaru…_' Her body wanted to take a step back, but her mind betrayed her and moved forward, she had to see if he was okay. Shaking, she slowly inched forward. She could tell that she had made a direct hit and Sesshoumaru had received the full blow of the purified arrow, but how he was still alive was beyond her. That was when she noticed something glowing at the youkai's side… Tenseiga. 

            '_Why was he here? Why did he attack that demon… to save me?_' Kagome violently shook her head. '_No, it attacked him first, but still, why was he here in the first place?_' she continued to inch toward him. '_Will he make it? Even after all those times he tried to kill me, I can't just leave him like this…_' She stopped two feet away from the youkai in pain. For some reason she didn't even know about, she got on her hands and knees and crawled towards him. When she was close enough, she gently placed her hand on his forehead. Sesshoumaru flinched, but Kagome was still able to tell that he was becoming colder and he was fading, fast. She got up into a kneeling position, remembering the last part of her dream: Sesshoumaru had saved her; and now in real life, he had done it again. Kagome sighed.

            "Hold on, Sesshoumaru…" she whispered lightly. Then she tried to get up again, it hurt, but she had to get help from the village. Suddenly, Sesshoumaru's hand shot up and grabbed her wrist. On instinct, Kagome tried to send out her purifying powers, but because of the previous battle she had and having tried to break through a barrier, she had too much strain put on herself and she cracked. The last of the energy that she had left her and the unconscious miko fell backwards, landing on Sesshoumaru. 

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JUST TO GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU START BOMBARDING ME WITH QUESTIONS:::

-:-NO NO NO NO!!! Sesshy doesn't die!!! He never dies!!! 

-:-Kagome only fainted because she had used too much of her power in a short time, and btw, she landed on Sesshy's stomach so its suppose to kinda look like they're sleeping together (^-~)

-:-Heres a diagram of how Kagome (^-^) was able to shoot =-- Sesshy (-.-) instead of the bull (Oo) when they were close to the well [[]]:

 (^-^) =-- (Oo) ~~(-.-) [[]]    **the ~~ is the whip

(pretty bad diagram eh?)

I hope that clears up most of everything!!! Feel free to ask if your confused about anything!!!

Review, criticize, help, or whatever you want… just give me ideas. btw, sorry so short

**Answers to reviews from chapter 4 to 5**:

DestroyerDRT- yeah, I'm an odd person. Hence, odd stories.

Fire Elfglow- no… but that's a great idea. Maybe I'll put in that idea somewhere later in the story ^-~

TheHikariWhoLovesBishis- yeah, I'm trying to update once every week… sorry if that's too long for you

AnonymousT- STOP MAKING NEW STORIES BEFORE YOU EVEN GET TO 3 CHAPTERS!!!

Yunfei- Kaede saying: "So it's true…" means that what Miroku, Sango, and Kagome told her was true and you reviewed **4 times?! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!! I LOVE YOU SOOOOOOOO MUCHHHHHH!!!! I need to think of an award for you…**

Loveyaa- aiyah… you wanna know alotta stuff… sorry but I can't say anything yet because it comes in later *zips up lips*

Karebearluv15- glad to know you like my story ^-^

Shorty40- thanks for reading my story even though it doesn't stay an Inu/Kag coupling

Wackoramaco87- I love leaving cliffhangers because I think it's healthy to keep people anticipating XD (yes I know I'm a cruel person) I like what I did to Jaken too… but I wish I could do that in real life then cut him up into little small pieces then… oops, cant say what's gonna happen to him

Lugia-mew- it starts out as an Inu/Kag then turns into a Sess/Kag… very soon… ^-^

Sour Schuyler- 3rd time reviewing?? YOU GET A COOKIE!!!! =D AND I LOVE YOU!!!!


	7. In My Murder's Den

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

***~Faded_Moon~***

**Disclaimer: I wish, I wish with all my heart, to fly with dragons in a land of art… uh, I mean fly with Inuyasha. No wait, with Sesshoumaru. ARGH, whatever. I DON'T OWN THEM SO QUIT PESTERING ME!!!!**

SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER!!! End of the 6 weeks yannoe? My teachers are killing me!!! Do I deserve this?! I'm only a fish in highschool!! *starts crying*

Lately, I've been having another idea for another Inuyasha fanfic, but I'm really trying not to start it til I get to chapter 10 of this story. I don't wanna end up being like _SOMEONE_ *coff CAP'N coff coff* and start another story before I even start typing chapter 3 of my second story that I started after only writing my summary of my first story. ^-^ No offense, Cap'n. I still love ya! :D Anyhoo… I might actually start writing it before I finish this chapter… so wait til the end to find out if I did start…

**Chapter 7**

**In My Murder's Den**

            "Hold on, Sesshoumaru…" she whispered so lightly that Sesshoumaru barely heard it. Then she tried to get up again, it hurt, but she had to get help from the village. Suddenly, Sesshoumaru's hand shot up and grabbed her wrist. On instinct, Kagome tried to send out her purifying powers, but because of the previous battle she had and having tried to break through a barrier, she had too much strain put on herself and she cracked. The last of the energy that she had left her and the unconscious miko fell backwards, landing on Sesshoumaru. 

[_A/N: Once again, my horrible diagram that showed people how bad I really am at diagramming with a keyboard :::_

(^-^) =-- ( Oo) ~~( -.- ) [[ ]]

_Likest__ I said, IT SUCKS, now stop laughing. -.-;]_

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            Rin jerked awake. Something was amiss… but what? She looked around. Jaken was dozing off in a sitting position by the fire. 

            '_No, it isn't him…_' she pondered for a moment when she heard someone speak. She sat up and scanned around the campfire, the sun was rising. Then she heard it again. This time she realized it was Jaken, no wonder he hadn't woken up at the sound. Rin smirked at the ugly toad.

            "shinnn… beapurbupp, foopid, ducky umen. M'lurd esohsomiru… yimm faifoh vermit…" [_A/N: cookie cake to whoever can translate that!!!_]

            Rin looked around the campfire again, then she trying to remember why she woke up. Parts of her dream came back to her: '_Sesshoumaru standing near a wooden square that looked like a well… a dark shadow flying towards him as he prepared to destroy it… then,' Rin gasped, '_a bright light shot out of the darkness and Sesshoumaru was consumed by the ever-growing light._' Rin scrunched by her eyes, it didn't make sense to her. Sesshoumaru looked as if he was in great pain. But why? Rin always thought that the light was a good thing. She looked up at the brightening sky, light was a good thing. Wasn't it? Then the little girl realized something: Sesshoumaru was a demon. It didn't matter if he was kind to her, he was still a demon. _

            She jumped onto her feet and searched within the folds of her kimono. She finally found a small, but sizeable flute-ish looking whistle and put it to her lips. She blew in it three times and waited. Soon enough, a black dot appeared in the sky and a few seconds later, landed not too far from where Rin was standing. She swiftly walked over to the two headed dragon and gave each neck a quick hug. Stepping back, she looked up at the two heads peering down at her.

            "Have you felt it too? I think Sesshoumaru-sama is in trouble… We should go find him." She ran to the two-headed dragon's side and clambered up onto its back. "Ah. Un. Let's go… just follow Sesshoumaru-sama's scent." The dragon took off the ground and silently glided toward their master and lord, leaving a toad that would be _very angry in the morning._

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            ~*~*~Back at the camp~*~*~

[_Kagome's dream]_

            Once again, Kagome stood at the edge of a forest near a cliff as the sun was setting. She looked around and walked toward the edge of the cliff to get a better look at the forest that lay over a hundred meters below. As she neared the edge, she heard someone behind her, Inuyasha. She smiled as Inuyasha came near her and held her around her waist, pulling her close. 

            Sighing, she looked back toward the sunset, it was beautiful and she felt happy. Suddenly and rudely, she felt a gust of wind coming from behind her pushing her forward nearer to the edge. She turned around and saw Inuyasha turning human and behind him, coming out of the forest, was… Kikyo. She was glaring at Kagome and raised a hand pointing past Kagome whose back was facing the cliff now. Her hands instinctively clasped onto Inuyasha's clothes coming closer to him again, but when she looked up into his eyes, expecting a look of protectiveness, she saw him glaring at her with eyes full of hatred. Kagome gasped as Inuyasha grabbed her by her neck and lifted her off the ground. He walked closer to the side and flung her over the edge of the cliff. It seemed like an eternity as she fell for the first few seconds, she saw the hint of sorrow in Inuyasha's eyes though they were clouded full of hate that she knew possessed Kikyo. Then he turned and walked back toward Kikyo. Kagome continued to fall and the sunset and cliff disappeared from around her surroundings. Everything became pitch-black as she fell headfirst toward the never-ending abyss. She closed her eyes and tears formed in the corners of her eyes then flew off the tips of her eyelashes, making a trail of sparkling pearls after her.

            After falling for what seemed almost like forever to her, she opened her eyes once again and tried to scream, but nothing came out of her throat. Now panicking, she thought frantically, '_Oh my god… someone… **ANYONE**… HELP!! I don't want to be falling like this forever…'_

            Like the answer to her prayer, a flash of silver flew before her as she felt herself being caught bridal style and squeezed her eyes tightly shut again. Then landing on the ground softly in the arms of her hero, she slowly opened her eyes to look around her. They were in an open field, full of lush green grass, flowers dotting the scenery, and trees growing around a clear blue lake. Then she turned her eyes toward the face of her savior. Tears had glazed over her eyes so she could only tell that he had silver hair and golden eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes again as he came in close and kissed her. Kagome opened her eyes, causing her tears to fall, and he wiped away her tears with the palm of his soft and gentle hand. Her conscious gasped. '_Sesshoumaru?!?!_' but her dream persona didn't flinch from his touch nor did she move away. He smiled at her and stood, placing Kagome on her feet. She stood there gazing up at his face. '_He's… beautiful_' she thought to herself as she reached out a hand to touch his pale, striped cheek. He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a loving embrace…

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            Kagome snuggled closer to the softness of the silk blankets on a futon. 

            '_Wait… since when did I start sleeping on futon with SILK blankets?!?!?!_' her eyes shot open and looked everywhere in a frantic search to figure out where she was. She felt like crap, literally. All her muscles were aching and she was having the worst migraine ever. Kagome groaned and tried relaxed her body. Slowly, she opened her eyes again. Blinking, the weary girl realized it was already midday and she was in some sort of castle. '_Only castles have stone ceilings, right? But where in the Western Lands is there a CASTLE?! I really I don't remember a castle anywhere… did they even have castles back then?' Kagome groggily opened her eyes again. '_Yep, I'm definitely in a castle. But where? And whose? And why?_' She laid on her back and stared at the ceiling for a few moments trying to recall what happened. All that came back to her was the image of Inuyasha and Kikyo in the field. She shuddered and tried to wipe away the mental picture. Then, as she was about to fall asleep from exhaustion, Kagome heard her door slide open. [__A/N: YES, I KNOW THERE WERE CASTLES/FORTRESSES! But Kagome-dear is having a slight problem with her memory as she can only remember Kikyo and Inuyasha right now… she didn't lose any memory, its just that the fact that she saw Inuyasha and Kikyo together is really depressing her and cutting up her heart. You can't really ignore something like that, yannoe?] _

            A small figure flitted through the small opening of the slide door and walked up to the edge of the futon cautiously. Kagome forced her eyes to open again. A small girl with chocolate brown eyes that were sparkling, and long black hair wearing a read and white checkered kimono stood by her bed. The girl's face held curiosity and worry. To Kagome's surprise, she realized that this girl could have not been more than 7 or 8 years of age. Kagome closed her eyes in relief that there were humans here.

            "Um… pretty lady? Sesshoumaru-sama is hurt… and I do not know what is wrong with him. Can you please tell me what is wrong? He doesn't look well." Kagome's eyes snapped open at the mentioning of Sesshoumaru as memories flooded back to her. The barrier, the boar-youkai, Sesshoumaru being hit by her arrow then fainting. She jerked her head toward the small girl who was backing away, although it killed her neck. 

            "Sesshoumaru-sama is here? Is this… is this his castle?" she questioned. The tiny girl nodded. '_Sesshoumaru keeps humans as slaves? I thought he despises humans…_' she questioned her further.

            "Are you a slave here?" she feared her answer, but the small girl just smiled really big. 

            "Of course not! Rin follows Sesshoumaru-sama because Sesshoumaru-sama saved Rin!" she smiled her biggest kawaii smile. Kagome gave her a small smile in return, but not without a lot of effort. Rin indicated the tray of food she had brought in and placed it at the futon's side. 

            "Just go to Sesshoumaru-sama's room when you're done eating…" with that, she happily skipped out of her room. Kagome looked at the food and collapsed.

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            Pain. It hurt. It hurt to think. It hurt to breathe. Hell, it hurt to even exist. Sesshoumaru tried to open his eyes. Never in his whole life had he ever been in so much pain. '_How did I return home? Did I die? What happened?' that was a lie, he knew what happened. That human wench, Kagome has shot an arrow straight into him, purifying him. How he was still alive was beyond him. '__I guess one can say I'm lucky to be alive… but that's wrong too. One would rather die than go through so much pain.' _

            Rin entered his room and stalked up to his over-sized futon. 

            "Sesshoumaru-sama, I brought the pretty lady her food. She'll be coming as soon as she's done." Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped open. '_KAGOME! That wench… such power she had that she couldn't even control it… I'll kill her once I'm able to move.' Sesshoumaru tried to curl his hand into a fist, but failed miserably. Then his world went dark. [_A/N: HE DIDN'T DIE!!! He just fainted... well, not fainted, sounds too girly for him… hm, collapsed from the pain. Yup! Just collapsed_]_

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Gomen, sorry this is so short… but I'm having a hard time finding time to write… 

Don't kill mee… but see? No cliffy, so you don't hafta freak out and fret over what happens next. Leave it to me =D

BTW, I DID start another fanfic: **Everything I Dreamt Of, And More**

Its angsty so don't read it unless you wanna end up dehydrating from crying XD


	8. The Healing Process

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

***~Faded_Moon~***

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING of Inuyasha, heck… I don't even own any plushies or wallscrolls or ANYTHING! *coff coff coff CHRISTMAS coff coff* **

Yeah, by the way… I DID start another fanfic: **Everything I Dreamt Of, And More. Its an angst fic. Yep, ANGST ALL THE WAY. See? I put my depression to good use ^-^ now on to the story…**

**Chapter 8**

**The Healing Process**

            "Sesshoumaru-sama, I brought the pretty lady her food. She'll be coming as soon as she's done." Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped open again. '_KAGOME! That wench… such power she had that she could not even control it… I'll kill her once I'm able to move._' Sesshoumaru tried to curl his hand into a fist, but failed miserably. His world went dark. [_A/N: Once again, he did not die! Just fainted (sorry sounds so girly)_]

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            He hated her. Every inch in his worn and partly purified body ached to spill her blood. However, he could not. It was not just because of his physical state. Something else tugged at him in the back of his mind, though he just pushed it further away. '_Why am I even letting her recuperate in MY home?! She tried to murder me, even if it wasn't intentional…_' 

After having to rest for four days already to recover from almost being wholly purified, he had resorted to using his ears to pick up any sounds in his castle or near it. There was not much to listen to other than Rin and Jaken's frequent arguments and Jaken's grumbling and complaining about Rin. Every now and then, Rin would visit Sesshoumaru in his quarters and report the same thing: she had brought the 'pretty lady' her food and she would be coming after she was done. However, the 'pretty lady' never came. Inwardly, Sesshoumaru frowned. Most of the time, he heard her even breathing as she slept, except when Rin visited her. Sesshoumaru's ears would always perk up when he heard Rin talk to the girl in the room next to his, but as soon as Rin stepped out of her room, Kagome would faint. It seemed as if she was in as bad of a state as him.

Sesshoumaru tried to refocus his thoughts, but his whole body hurt and the girl who caused that pain was breathing peacefully next door. '_How hard can be this be?!' he reprimanded himself, '_Just because your murderer is in the next room and the pain is all you can think of doesn't mean…_' Sesshoumaru gave a long sigh. It was hopeless for him. No matter how hard he tried to get his mind off the girl, he could not. His hands itched to grasp her neck and wring it. He tried to drift off into a sleep, but that proved unsuccessful as well. Her breathing was ringing in his ears. The great demon lord grimaced and formed a fist with the only arm he had. Just as he started debating with himself how he should kill her, he heard a gasp come from her room. His ears perked up as sobs that were trying to be kept quiet resounded throughout her quarters and through the wall. _

'_How interesting…' he mused. '__Is she crying because she's afraid that I'll come kill her any second? Or that she is completely helpless in this situation? What a pitiful human…' _

The next thing he heard that came from her room nearly wrenched his heart out and totally blew his mind away: his half brother's name, Inuyasha. 

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~*~*~**Four days ago~*~*~**

"Where in the seven hells is that wench?!?!" an angry hanyou stormed out of Kaede's hut as a sleepy-eyed Sango and Miroku emerged from the shelter. 

"Inuyasha?" Sango wearily eyed him, "Why are you so mad? Come on… it's way too early for this. She probably went to bathe or something." Inuyasha whirled on the exterminator.

"Went to go bathe?! Why?! Did you two not go last night?!?!" he stopped short as he raised his nose a bit. "She went to the well…? " The hanyou's expression changed from anger into confusion. The sleepy monk gave the exterminator by him a raised eyebrow as she returned the same look. Both relayed the same message though: either Kagome had gone to get something, or she had _seen something… however… her bows and arrows were missing while her bag was left behind._

"Inuyasha…" Miroku started slowly, "Why were you up so early this morning?" Inuyasha gave him a funny look.

"What do you mean? I never sleep when I'm human… too risky. Why do you ask?"

"Well, Inuyasha," Sango stated, "You're going to become one tired and paranoid hanyou after one week like that. However, that is besides the point… Did you GO anywhere this morning?" The couple tapped their toes patiently as the hanyou's calmed confusion started flaring toward anger again.

"What do you mean by THAT?" the seething hanyou pointed tenaciously. The demon exterminator's forbearance broke first.

"LOOK INUYASHA! We ALL know that Kagome could have gone home for one of two reasons: 1) she went to go get supplies or 2) you upset her in some way, namely being with a certain incarnation! And it's obviously the latter because her bag is left behind!" 

Inuyasha's angry features showed no reaction to the girl's statement, but Sango could still tell she had hit him where it hurt. His eyes flashed as a twitch jolted on the side his lips. Miroku stared intently at Inuyasha. He had not noticed the flinch that passed over his face in a millisecond, but he had noticed that Inuyasha had not replied to the Sango's accusation. 

"Inuyasha…" the weary monk started, but Inuyasha had already whirled and stormed off towards the well, however, not before letting out a warning growl. Miroku looked back at Sango, whom you could almost see the steam rising from her, and inched away slightly. Sango let a 'humph' and turned to go back into the hut. Miroku let out a sigh then followed the demon exterminator's suit.

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~*~*~**Present~*~*~**

 '_Inuyasha… how could this happen? Why?_' Kagome cried out in her head. The aching miko turned onto her side and crumpled up into a ball, weeping as silently as she could into the silk sheets. '_I__ thought that you finally realized how much I cared for you, Inuyasha… how can you keep doing this? Do I mean that little to you?' she squeezed her eyes tightly shut, hoping that the room around her would disappear and she would be back with her friends, but instead of being greeted with the peaceful black, the image of Kikyo and Inuyasha together on the field appeared. Her eyes snapped open again as a fresh wave of tears poured forth. Kagome looked around the room through her tear-filled eyes. It was huge and beautiful compared to all the huts she had spent nights at during her stays in the feudal era. The brokenhearted miko blinked off a tear that clung to her eyelashes. _

'_Have you even noticed that I'm gone?' Kagome thought bitterly, '_Why haven't you come for me yet? Are you having fun with your new wench, Kikyo?'_ Kagome gasped. '_No, no, no… I cannot think like that… What if Kikyo dragged him off to hell? It is my fault that I couldn't stop her._' She curled up tighter as more tears streamed from her red eyes. "Oh Inuyasha…"_

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Next door to the crying girl, the demon lord lay silently as he concentrated on her waves of emotions. They confused him though: sorrow, bitterness, regret, then love… He scoffed to himself, how pitiful these human feelings were. He sensed that they hurt her more than her aching body and wounds. How he wanted to talk to this miko girl. He wanted to probe around her feelings, but he knew very well that there was no way to do such a thing. Of course, he could always cut her open and probe with her feelings of fear and extreme pain. However, there were so many more feelings exposed now- he wanted to go and figure out her deepest feelings… there had to be someway to do that. Sesshoumaru sank deeper into the cushions of his futon contemplating how to examine those human feelings when a knock came to his door.

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" the ugly green toad-like youkai crept into the youkai lord's quarters. "My lord, your worthless, humble, obedient, loy-" 

"Silence, Jaken. What do you want? Explain your business then leave me." An irritated Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes then sank even deeper into his bedding. 

"Yes, milord. This unworthy servant is eternally sor-"

"_Jaken…" Sesshoumaru said in a warning tone._

"I'm dreadfully sorry. Ah, yes. Um, I have found a way to bring about the healing faster." Sesshoumaru gave his servant a indifferent look. 

"Continue…"

"Yes, milord. I have found a dark youkai priest from the Northern Lands, Kuyaki. He says that knows of a way make demon blood become stronger and return back to its original way, the way before the miko had purified it…"

'_Hm__… a dark priest- from the Northern Lands, too. I smell trouble written all over this, but… this should be interesting.'_

"He says he needs the object that saved you from becoming completely purified. He says that you are extremely lucky to be alive after a untrained miko purified you. It could have been fatal…" Sesshoumaru shot a death glare at the rambling toad then turned his eyes toward the open window next to his futon. A light breeze blew in as the silk curtains danced around the invisible force. The demon lord took a deep breath, all the smells from the outer world filling his nostrils. 

'_Another weak youkai dares to walk into my territory once again?'_

"M-milord?" Jaken asked timidly. Sesshoumaru looked back toward the servant with bored eyes.

"So this youkai priest needs Tenseiga? Very well," Sesshoumaru said as the green youkai nodded quickly, "He may use Tenseiga for his… experiment." At that moment, the small human girl flew in. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama!!! You can't trust that bad youkai!!! He's evil, I can tell. He's mean and evil! You might use your sword-"

"Silence, Rin! I already know the dangers of this stranger, but there is no other way. I'm dead either way." Rin looked at the injured youkai lord with confused eyes. "If this priest does not use my sword against me, then we might as well die by the hands of intruding youkai…" Tears welled up in the tiny human girl's chocolate brown eyes. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama…?" 

"Rin. Jaken. Leave me now… and take the Tenseiga with you to that dark priest, get him started on his dark magic right away. I have business that needs to be attended to."

The normally arguing pair bowed slightly and took their leave of their protector and lord. Nevertheless, just as they stepped out of the room, Rin shot a death glare at the ugly toad youkai and stomped away into the recuperating miko's room. Jaken stuck out his tongue at the retreating human's figure then sighed and carried his master's precious weapon to the dark youkai priest who waited patiently at the entrance of the castle.

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Ah…… uhmm… uhhh… bad news? I kinda slacked off like the slacker-offer I am and I only got 1 chapter done… PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!! *gets on hands and knees* you see… I kinda had a small writer's block. Okay, okay. It wasn't even a block… more like a pebble, but still!!! 

I'm TERRIBLY sorry… I'll try to get one more done… ½ of the work I promised? Is that okay? I mean it's like better than nothing at all right? I'm sorry. I'm sorry… I'll go get to work right away sir! I'm going!!! I'm goinggg!!!!


	9. His Desperation and Her Fate

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

**FadedMoon**

**Disclaimer:** The day I own Inuyasha will be the day my friend's 7th grade English teacher weighs 120, my biology teacher gets brains, and my orchestra teacher waxes his arms (not pits)

HEY! Whaddya know? No flesh-eating turtles (yet)! Guess that means ya'll aren't that mad at me. That makes me happy - Anyhow, if you are willing to bite your thumb at me, I will accept your disgrace and I won't ask:' Do you thumb your thumb at me, sir?' YUP! That's right! We're reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. What joy… -.- If you do not wish to bite your thumb at me, I give you permission to blow your nose in my general direction (Monty Python and the Holy Grail a MUST-SEE) aite, aite, aite… on to the story (which will b the death of me someday, haha)

**Chapter 9**

**His Desperation and Her Fate **

"Rin. Jaken. Leave me now… and take the Tenseiga with you to that dark priest, get him started on his dark magic right away. I have business that needs to be attended to."

The normally arguing pair bowed slightly and took their leave of their protector and lord. Nevertheless, just as they stepped out of the room, Rin shot a death glare at the ugly toad youkai and stomped away into the recuperating miko's room. Jaken stuck out his tongue at the retreating human's figure then sighed and carried his master's precious weapon to the dark youkai priest who waited patiently at the entrance of the castle.

* * *

A silver-haired dog boy sat silently in the lower braches of a tree staring off into space. Below him, a demon exterminator, monk, and a fox demon child conversed quietly of his strange behavior ever since they departed the village in search for their vanished miko. However, Inuyasha knew that although they were worried about Kagome, he was worrying them even more right then. 

'_It's true though…_' the hanyou mused. '_Ever since we found out Kagome was missing… I've been more detached._'

His blank expression turned into a frown. Once again, he was at one of those points in life where he felt so helpless. But this time, his disposition was caused by the loss of Kagome. He was going to get her back… He **had** to get her back.

'_Does she really mean that much to me?_' His eyes showed emptiness and sorrow. '_Why can't I stop worrying and thinking about her for just a moment?_'

**FlashBack**

'_I can't believe this… I'm really screwing up this time, but… I've got to tell them. I have to tell them my choice… If Kagome really did see us, it's just made this a lot more difficult. But still, I have to tell her, even if it breaks her heart._' Inuyasha walked a bit faster towards the well that held the hole between his and Kagome's world. As he briskly walked, breezes blew his way from the north, bringing new smells of the coming winter. '_Funny… I thought that once I had made up my mind, this burden would have been lifted off my shoulders. Somehow, it feels as if it only got heavier…_'

Suddenly, as he neared the clearing of the well, a strong wind pushed its way through the forest trees, nearly knocking the hanyou in thought backwards. Steadying himself, Inuyasha looked around searching for the source of the mighty gust that had cut through the trees. Then he sensed it. A youki of a dragon. It was drawing closer to where he was, yet further away at the same time. Confused, he scanned the trees through again, and then realized that the only way it could be coming his way was- he looked up towards the blue sky. Sure enough, there was a brownish dot in the sky. He thought about the first time he saw a dragon- the time when he first saw his father battle. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide open.

'_THIS SMELL! Its Kagome's blood and…_' His eyes grew wider, '_Sesshoumaru…_' Upon his awareness, the hanyou took off, running faster than ever before, fearing the worst. '_The smell of death grows as I near the well…… Kagome, please be alright…_' He shot out of the forest onto the green field that used to hold peacefulness and beauty, but was now replace by the resting place for a huge rotting corpse of a boar demon. Inuyasha stopped in his tracks several yards away from the well and the boar remnants.

Blood. It was everywhere, staining the once green grass that carpeted the field. The smell of the dead boar's blood was overpowering. Inuyasha gazed at the dark red blood of the boar drench everything that lay within a 3-foot radius of where it lay. He walked closer towards the boar's carcass. It was sliced perfectly down the middle. Something Inuyasha recognized as the handiwork of none other than his half-brother, Sesshoumaru. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye and he shifted his attention to a brighter and smaller splashes of drying blood on the grass a few feet away from the circle of the boar's blood. Lying next to the drying blood was Kagome's bow and empty quiver with bloodstains adorning it as well. Slowly, he made his way towards the now useless weapon. They were Kagome's no doubt-- the bow, quiver, and blood. He picked up the masterless weapons and straightened up again.

'_If Kagome's weapons are here, she ought to be too. There's no sign of anymore of Kagome's blood split here._' He looked around once then made his way towards the well. '_Sesshoumaru couldn't have killed her…_' He then noticed a small patch of flattened grass right by the well. Walking even slower, he realized that it smelled stronger of Sesshoumaru there, but the smell Kagome's blood was there as well.

In desperation, Inuyasha jumped into the well, hoping Kagome would have had enough sense to try to escape home. Touching the bottom, Inuyasha shot back out of the well, landing in the well house. He took a sniff of the inside of the small shack. No Kagome. Inuyasha began to panic— he had hoped that she would have tried to get home instead of been carried off. Once again, Inuyasha had another wave of understanding.

'_Sesshoumaru might have taken her to use her somehow… probably another one of that bakayaro's schemes to get Tetsusaiga. But still… _' Inuyasha went through the well again and began to deepen his search… she had to be somewhere. She had been able to overcome Sesshoumaru better than he had, but it seemed as if the boar had weakened her, but it still made no sense. She should have had enough miko power to beat him. That was when he noticed how much purifying magic lingered in the air. There was so much that the air that he breathed seemed even heavier. Inuyasha looked back at the boar noting that none of the pure magic was used on the boar. Inuyasha began to panic even more. He scanned the area around the well for more clues.

'_THE DRAGON YOUKAI!_' Inuyasha freaked out. '_How could I have not known? The wind had come from this direction, but I never noticed it…_' He turned and faced the well. Immediately, he felt weary and very helpless. "No… Kagome…" Inuyasha took another step forward then fell to his hands and knees in front of the Bone Eater's Well. "KAGOME!"

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"Kagome…" The small girl sat on the edge of Kagome's futon, swinging her feet over the side and humming a tune she knew from a forgotten memory. The miko lying on the futon raised her head a bit to get a better look at the girl. "What is it, Rin?" The little girl looked shyly at the older female dressed in a simple kimono resting on the soft cushions.

"Do you like it here, Kagome? I mean… if you don't, I'm sorry… I brought you back because you looked awful tired on the ground… with Sesshoumaru-sama," Kagome blinked as the tiny girl stammered on, "And you were hurt. So… so… I. I thought-"

"Rin-chan, don't worry about it. I'm glad you helped me, if it weren't for you… I don't know what would have happened to me." She gave Rin a cheerful smile. However, the little girl still looked doubtful.

"So you DO like it here?"

Kagome's smile faltered for a second. How could she like it here? She was staying at the place of one of their most dangerous and powerful enemies. For all she knew, Sesshoumaru would walk through the sliding door at any moment and kill her. However, the little girl made Kagome curious about what the youkai lord was really like. How would a youkai who hated his own brother, who was half human, save a completely human girl and take her in?

'_Wait… Did she just say…?_'

"Rin, did you just say that you brought me back, not Sesshoumaru?" Rin nodded happily.

"Yup! Rin brought you and Sesshoumaru-sama back. Well, not just by myself… AhUn, helped!"

"AhUn?" the miko questioned.

"AhUn are Rin's friends. They're a dragon." Kagome looked uncertainly at the small girl. Her speech was strange- how was AhUn plural while dragon was singular?

"Isn't AhUn two dragons, not one?" Rin furrowed her brow at Kagome's question.

"I don't know… I never thought about that. They have two heads, but one body… so I called them two and one!" a silly grin came to the girl's face.

"Oh…"

"Yup! Anyhow, Sesshoumaru-sama left Rin and Jaken back somewhere and went to go look for his brother. But while he was away, Rin got a bad feeling. I felt that something bad happened to Sesshoumaru-sama, so I took AhUn, left Jaken behind, and flew towards where Sesshoumaru-sama was. When I found him, he had an arrow sticking out of him, but no blood coming from there. He just had blood from his mouth."

Rin stopped and turned to sit in a kneeling fashion, but her hands pressing on the soft silk. She left out a small sigh then shook her head. "I didn't know if he was alright. We put you on AhUn first and then Sesshoumaru-sama, then we brought you and Sesshoumaru-sama back."

Kagome nodded understandingly. '_So that's how I got here… now I just need to know how to get back out._' She turned her head and looked out the window. Gray clouds rolled across the sky, unfolding their fluffy blankets as they were blown overhead.

Rin, noticing the older girl's distraction, hopped off the futon and walked towards the door. Sliding the door open, she turned around and said, "Sesshoumaru-sama says not to bother you too much. He also said to sleep a lot." She paused and stepped out of the room, "Then he said to go to his room." The door closed again.

Kagome sat in the futon staring at the door for a few moments. Then following the orders of her caretaker, she slid further down under the covers and drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

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(A several hours later…)

**BOOM**

Rin sat straight up in her futon. She glanced wildly around. "Wha-"

**BOOOM**

The second loud crack sent the tiny girl cowering under her blankets and cushions. The image of the older girl, Kagome, resting in her bed flashed through her head. Yes, Kagome… she had to go to Kagome. Silently, she slid out of the safety of her bedding onto the cold hard floor. Suddenly, a brilliant flash seared across the sky and lit up the interior of the little girl's room. The white light made Rin look as white as a ghost, her eyes that were full of fear and terror complimenting her temporary white skin.

**BOOOOM**

The girl dived back into the blankets of her futon. Shivering, she peered out of her shelter. The crack had turned into a low rumbling that sounded like Sesshoumaru-sama when he growled at people. The thought of Kagome crossed her mind again. She scrunched up her face into a determined look and sprang from her bed then ran to the door. She yanked it open and hurried outside, running down the hallway to a door a few doors down and on the other side of the hall. Another bolt of lightening flashed just as she scurried inside and closed the door.

**CRAAACK-K-BOOOOMMMM**

Rin flew into the miko's bedding, shaking. Kagome woke with a start. "Who… what…"

Rin peered up from under some soft blankets. "S-sorry, Kagome…"

Kagome recognized the voice immediately, "Rin?"

"Mhmm… Rin got s…scared… Don't make me go back?" her eyes filled with tears as she pleaded. Kagome looked at the little girl wondering. This girl traveled with one of the most feared demons in feudal Japan, yet she was scared of a thunderstorm? It confused the miko, but she looked upon the girl with caring eyes.

"Of course I won't, Rin. You can stay here with me tonight." With that, Rin happily crawled closer to the older girl and curled into a ball as sleep overtook her instantly. Kagome gave a yawn as another crash came and felt the girl give a little jolt. Trying the sooth the terrified girl, she began smoothing out her long dark brown hair and soon enough, the girl and the miko fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

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Birds chirped happily outside as the midday sun forced its bright light into the castle rooms. Inside, two girls lay dreaming… but not for long.

Kagome squeezed her eyes close even tighter, but despite her efforts, the persistent and demanding light forced her to wake. She gave a yawn then stretched- she felt as if she hadn't been out of bed since forever. Kagome hopped off of the cushions and gave a look around the room.

'_Funny… I had a weird dream about this place… but I was sick or something…_' she heard a noise behind her as a small girl woke up.

"Kagome? How come your out of bed? Are you okay now?" Kagome spun around to see a young girl tilt her head in a questioning look. '_It wasn't a dream,_' Kagome realized, '_I really am in Sesshoumaru's castle… how am I going to get out?_' She felt something on her hand and looked down.

"Come on, Kagome… since you're better, you can go see Sesshoumaru-sama now!" Rin chirped happily, as she clung to the older girl's hand and led her to the doorway.

'_W… Wha-aa…?_' Kagome felt her heart start to pound. She was going to die now… she knew it… she was gonna die. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that it was just a bad dream, but when she opened her eyes, she was standing at the door a couple feet away from her own. Kagome blinked at the sliding door then down at the girl that smiled so happily back at her.

She gulped.

"Go on, Kagome-chan! Sesshoumaru-sama is waiting." The small girl pulled open the door and gave Kagome a small nudge.

Her heart pounded loudly against her chest as she felt sweat form on her forehead, then stepped inside.

* * *

The reason Inuyasha couldn't sense Sesshoumaru or Kagome on the dragon is because they were both kinda near death so yeah… worn out like never before… 

I know I didn't explain it in this chapter, but Rin heals Kagome during that night when she's super freaked out. (Yeah, I have Rin as an unknown miko in this story -)

If you haven't figured it out by now… Sesshy never asked Kagome to come to his room- he wants to kill her, remember? Rin is just trying to set up the two (and she's sure super good at it too!) A miko and a setter-upper ß you gotta love that combo! Anyhow, more of that in the later chapters!

READ AND REVIEWWWWWW and hence, I shall write more because it is SOOOOOOO encouraging to see people review like crazy


	10. A Thousand Wounds

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

**FadedMoon**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha, BUT I DO own those wonderful reviews my faithful pets have been sending me

Speaking of which… YALL HAVN'T BEEN FAITHFUL LATELY! What happened to all my faithful reviewers? T-T sits on the floor of a big golden hall with big golden pillars with two white envelopes floating down, containing two reviews

I shall write and weep at the same time… how depressing

**Chapter 10**

**A Thousand Wounds **

'_Wh__… Wha-aa…?_' Kagome felt her heart start to pound. She was going to die now… she knew it… she was gonna die. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that it was just a bad dream, but when she opened her eyes, she was standing at the door a couple feet away from her own. Kagome blinked at the sliding door then down at the girl that smiled so happily back at her.

She gulped.

"Go on, Kagome-chan! Sesshoumaru-sama is waiting." The small girl pulled open the door and gave Kagome a small nudge.

Her heart pounded loudly against her chest as she felt sweat form on her forehead, then stepped inside.

* * *

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin's voice rang out in the dark, vast, ominous room. Kagome stood there, her knees shaking while trying to fight the urge to run and hide. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama, Kagome got better so she came to see you!" she said in a tone too happy for the amount of tension between the demon and miko.

'_I'm gonna die… I'm gonna dieeee… OH MY GOSHHH! I'M GONNA DIE!_' the voice in Kagome's head kept on repeating. '_Is this girl INSANE!_' She peered down towards the grinning child by her side. She felt a nudge.

"Go on, Kagome! Tell him to get well! You're staying at his castle, anyhow…" Rin whispered all too loudly. Kagome gulped audibly. '_Wish him well! So what! So he can come and kill me!_'

"Ahhh, get… um… well… soon, Sesshoumaru-sama…"the teenage girl spoke in a shaky voice.

Sesshoumaru, himself, was quite unsure of how to respond to all this. His worthless half-brother's wench was in his quarters wishing him good health, when it was her that put him in such a state in the first place. Even more, his 'adopted' child was being all giddy about it.

"Okay, Rin is going to go now. Bye-bye!" Kagome eyes grew wide as the little girl disappeared from her side. This was unbelievable. Being alone in the same room as someone who tried to kill her time and time again. The silence was killing her enough. Kagome desperately wanted to run, but she felt her body frozen in place. Her hands went clammy with cold sweat. If there was such a thing such a miracle, it would be great if it came right then.

Sesshoumaru watched the girl amusingly; she was nervous and scared half to death. The smell of fear was overpowering. But just to emphasize his hatred towards her, he slowly cracked his fingers. He could basically see her shaking.

Suddenly, the door flew open and a small, ugly green something tumbled in.

"Move aside you worthless human!" Kagome was shoved to the side as a toad youkai bowed in respect to his master lying on the spacious futon.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, I bring news of the dark priest!"

Sesshoumaru's unsure thinking was suddenly cleared when he heard his faithful servant speak of the dark priest. His golden orbs traveled to the brown and green lump of poop on the floor.(_A/N: SORRYY! I just HAD to say that!_) Usually, in the past (and sometimes now in the present), he would always give Jaken hell. Sesshoumaru was always telling him to do chores, telling him to kill some people not worth his own time, telling him to watch Rin, scaring him half to death, actually killing him then reviving him again just so he could kill him once more- such things gave the inu youkai some pleasure in such a routine life style. The amber orbs flicked over to the miko that stood in almost a trance-like state. Fear still radiated off her as she slowly regained her senses that she was, indeed, killing distance of Sesshoumaru.

"Proceed."

Jaken lifted his smushed face a few inches off the floor to look towards the place where his master lay.

"M'lord. The dark priest has been studying your Tenseiga and concluded that it was the only reason you were able to survive such a strong purifying arrow." Jaken shot a deadly glare at Kagome then went back to his humble position. "He says, m'lord, that whoever shot that arrow with the powers of a miko and took away your strength should be able to restore you back to your full health."

Kagome turned her fearful eyes to the servant on the floor when he had mentioned the miko part.

"He says to bring the priestess with you to his domain so he may be able to find the exact way for you to be healed."

Hurriedly, Jaken arose and scurried to his master's bedside. He held out a small black bottle to the demon.

"This, m'lord, is a potion that will give you strength to walk about and journey to the dark priest's home, and do such, but he says that he fears it will not be enough to give you the strength to fight. And it has some side effects…"

Sesshoumaru took the small black bottle, examined it, and then sniffed it. He turned his emotionless face towards the young miko causing her to back up a few steps to the wall.

"Meaning that …" Sesshoumaru concluded slowly, "…I will be no better off than a human…"

Jaken fell to the ground, smushing his already ugly face into the hardwood floor.

"M'lord, I fear that the potion that the dark priest has sent you will… turn you into a human."

The youkai lord said nothing. The toad's words rang through his head.

_Turn you into a human. Turn you into a human._

Was this really how Fate was going to punish him- by turning him into the one thing that he despised and hated the most? How strangely cruel this mistress Fate was.

Nevertheless, it couldn't affect his decision- he would have to let down his pride and do what he had to do… to preserve his lands.

"Jaken. Give the miko some food. We will depart soon, and you will stay here and watch Rin."

The toad servant bowed even lower and rose. He scurried to Kagome, bidding her to follow him out of his master's quarters. Kagome shook herself out of her daze and quickly followed Jaken to her freedom from the looming death.

Once the two had left, Sesshoumaru slowly pulled himself to a sitting position. Pain felt its way all around his body as his arms shook from the lack of strength. He brought the black bottle up to eye level again, staring at it long and hard. It seemed safe enough, what would a dark priest have against him when he was paying him a great sum anyhow? Finally making up his mind, the demon lord unplugged the bottle and poured the potion into his mouth.

**

* * *

MY FAITHFUL PETS!** (those who reviewed): Actually… I lost count of who reviewed… so I'll just do the last… uh. Wot? Twenty?

morlana – 1

Hot Shot Rose- 1

Blue Kami- 1

Kagome takes over the wor- 1

Comicfancat- 5

Sliver-Blue-eyes- 1

TheHikariWhoLovesBishis- 1

Sesshyangel- 1

Kagome- 3

Trina3- 2

AnonymousT- 3

Rem9- 1

cloudsephiroth- 1

akuhoshi- 4

Why must you suck so bad- 1

Spiffiness- 1

Kuramasgirl556- 1

lolliekittie- 1

and my most faithful pet is… drum roll **COMICFANCAT**!

And my second most faithful pet is… drum roll again **AKUHOSHI**!

Praise be to **Kagome** and **AnonymousT** (tiffooooo) also

Gives tons of hugs and kisses!

By the way… those two reviews I got at that one time… (BY UBER FAITHFUL PETS!) are from: **akuhoshi** & **spiffiness** (not counting mr-I-don't-like-sesshoumaru-but-inuyasha-because-sesshoumaru-is-all-mean-and-nasty-and-he-stole-my-teddy-bear! Aka: Why must you suck so bad, and if you haven't noticed… it IS an Inu/Kag for those who hate Sesshoumaru coffcoff tiffO coff well… at least for now it is… grins evilly)


	11. To Be Human Is To Be

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

**FadedMoon**

**Disclaimer:** I've finally come to terms with the fact that I don't own Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru… BUT WHO CARES AS LONG AS YOU DON'T OWN THEM EITHER! MWAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAA!

Gomen. I haven't updated since… since… wow… over a year… I haven't updated since forever… but yeah. I have no clue why, but I had like 0 inspiration to write anything about Inuyasha and not to mention lots of schoolwork. BUT! SCHOOLS OUT FOR NOW! SO COME TO ME MY INSPIRATION! stands with arms open wide as a silent breeze blows by and tumbleweeds round about … nvm then. Enjoy the first chapter to come out in over a year.

**Chapter 11**

**To Be Human Is To Be**

"Jaken. Give the miko some food. We will depart soon, and you will stay here and watch Rin."

The toad servant bowed even lower and rose. He scurried to Kagome, bidding her to follow him out of his master's quarters. Kagome shook herself out of her daze and quickly followed Jaken to her freedom from the looming death.

Once the two had left, Sesshoumaru slowly pulled himself to a sitting position. Pain felt its way all around his body as his arms shook from the lack of strength. He brought the black bottle up to eye level again, staring at it long and hard. It seemed safe enough, what would a dark priest have against him when he was paying him a great sum anyhow? Finally making up his mind, the demon lord unplugged the bottle and poured the potion into his mouth.

* * *

Kagome knelt before a small table with an assortment of foods placed upon it. Blinking, she stared at the food blankly, trying to realize that she had survived being alone in the presence of Sesshoumaru without getting killed, not once, but twice. The astonished miko shook herself out of her trance and tried to focus her mind on eating or else Sesshoumaru might come and actually kill her. The several dishes and baskets that had been set out contained six bread buns, three nectarines and carrots, and two pieces of cheese and a cooked fish. Kagome blinked at the live food pyramid waiting for her to consume it. 

'_Wow,_' Kagome thought to herself, '_I guess Sesshoumaru likes to eat healthy_.' She picked up some food and began absent-mindedly chewing. '_Still, I don't understand… Am I actually going to be traveling with Sesshoumaru to this place so he can get better? What will happen to me after that? He's probably going to pull out that other sword of his and chop me in half! No! I can't let him get better._' Kagome shook her head in frustration, '_But I put him in this situation… because he saved me..._' Kagome's thoughts trailed off as images of their encounter at the well replayed in her mind.

"There has to be another way…" the girl thought aloud.

"And there will be once we get there."

Kagome spun around to see a young man towering over her and an unreadable expression on his face.

"Eh?" was all that came from Kagome.

'_Who is this person?_' the young girl wondered to herself. There was nobody else here that had spoken to her other than Rin, Jaken, and Sesshoumaru. She had never seen this person before.

'_Wait…_ _what did he just say? "once _we_ get there"_?' Kagome re-examined the young man again.

The man was quite handsome, Kagome had to admit- so handsome that he was HOT. The high school girl felt her heart flutter. He had long black hair, so dark that it seemed to consume all light that fell upon it. His eyes were a dark grey, though they had a hint of gold to them. He stood at a nice height and had a good build. His skin was pale and looked soft and smooth. However… he looked a lot like Sesshoumaru.

"Wh-Who are you?" Kagome stuttered.

The handsome young man had a hint of annoyance flickering in his dark grey eyes.

"You really are quite slow, human," he scoffed at her and walked past her to grab some food off the table.

Kagome was shocked. She tried to say something but her voice wouldn't work. Sesshoumaru watched the girl as she obviously was trying to piece the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Idiot girl, don't you remember that potion that I took?" he eyed her, annoyed. Kagome looked a bit lost, then slowly, she nodded her head.

'_So that's what happened. This man is Sesshoumaru… as a human?_'

That's when Kagome noticed it- he had two arms.

"Your arm…"

The man smirked.

"Yes… It would seem that being a weak human had given this Sesshoumaru my arm back."

The human version of Sesshoumaru had lost the armor and was now wearing a simple white robe. While munching on some bread, the now-human demon stood again and walked over to where Jaken was standing. The toad youkai stood holding a bag and two swords. Kagome gulped.

'_Swords…?_'

Sesshoumaru wanted to roll his eyes. This girl was so obviously afraid that he didn't even need his youkai senses to tell him that. However, he wanted to play with her a bit more…

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru motioned for his little frog minion as he kept his eyes on the frozen miko, "the dark priest never said anything about bringing the miko there aliveor_ dead_, did he?"

Kagome audibly gulped and her eyes widened as the now-human youkai lord emphasized the word 'dead'. Sesshoumaru smirked inwardly at her terrified reaction, but the toad didn't notice.

"M'lord, the dark priest did say that it would be best to keep her alive, even though the Tenseiga could revive her once you arrived."

Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to beat down the toad next to him and looked at the young girl kneeling on the floor.

"Let us depart now, since you're done eating." Kagome looked surprised at his command.

"Wha- but I didn't…"

Sesshoumaru stared down at the girl, "If you had enough time to sit there with an idiotic expression on your face, then you've had enough time to finish eating." He turned to leave. "If you cause even the smallest hassle while we make our way to the Northern lands… I'll kill you."

Kagome stared after Sesshoumaru with bugged-out eyes, and then with the realization of the murderous intent behind his words, she scrambled onto her feet and raced after him.

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Exhausted from walking so long, she wheezed as she climbed the steep, rocky hill after Sesshoumaru. All her hopes and plans of escaping were crushed when she realized that he always kept at least one eye on her. She glanced up ahead and saw him steadily climbing the boulder covered slope.

'_Sheesh! If he wants to get there as soon as possible for that dark priest to heal him, he could at least give me a hand._' Kagome thought unappreciatively, '_Then again, if we get there faster…_'

Her thoughts trailed off as she stopped from her long and tedious trek. The raven-haired man stopped and turned around looking at the girl with an unreadable expression.

"Keep walking." Kagome gaped at the back of the figure as it turned around again to continue along its way up to the top of the hill. She couldn't believe how rude this man was. A look of anger passed over her usually happy features as she glared at the Sesshoumaru's back.

"There is no point in glaring at me like that," he spoke without turning around, "But if it will help, I will gratefully remove some of your body parts. And I am sure you _will_ miss them." (_A/N: From Kill Bill XD_)

Kagome stunned at how casually he spoke those words. She stood there for a couple of seconds until she remembered his last command and began racing up the hillside with the renewed energy from her fear of his wrath.

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Kagome collapse onto the dirt floor just as the sun was setting. She couldn't go any further. Her legs felt as weak and wobbly as jello flan. She knelt on the ground as she breathed heavily. She knew Sesshoumaru would be mad, but she didn't care. She couldn't go on anymore.

She heard the dirt crunch as a pair of black cloth shoes approached her. She closed her eyes and prayed for mercy then looked up. To her surprise, the human-youkai looked worn out himself, but calm.

"Tired already?"

Kagome looked back down on the ground. She might as well stand up to him if he tried to make her go any further. Painfully, she tried to push herself off the ground when she felt a hand lightly pressing her head. Surprised, she looked up again.

"Don't push yourself anymore. There's no reason to."

Sesshoumaru dropped his hand and began to walk away.

"Don't kid yourself. I have no concern for you. But if I didn't stop you, you would have probably kept going then fall over and die. And if that happened, I wouldn't be able to return to my original form."

Kagome wanted to beat the living and dead crap out of him. But of course, since her chances were already one out of a thousand, trying to beat a human Sesshoumaru up when she was exhausted has the chances of one out of a million. The miko sighed.

"We'll stop here for tonight. Get some rest- we're leaving at daybreak."

With that being said, Sesshoumaru turned around and walked off into the forest.

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Kagome stretched her arms out as she let out a huge yawn. Her legs were in massive pain.

Although she was very athletic, her legs were no match for walking for days. She didn't want to get up. However, just as she settled down for another long nap, she realized that the sun was already up.

'_Oh no!_'

Kagome sat back up again, looking around for the Sesshoumaru. She gulped.

'_Where is he?_' Kagome carefully eyed her surroundings, '_Didn't he say we were leaving at daybreak? It's probably almost 10 o'clock by now._'

She shuddered. What if Sesshoumaru came back and began tearing off her limbs as a punishment for oversleeping? She didn't want to die yet. She was too young to die!

'_Wait. Sesshoumaru can't kill me. He NEEDS me to be alive… well until we get there. Freshly killed?_' Kagome shook the bad thoughts out of her mind, '_But if he needs me to be alive… he wouldn't have just left me here… He'll definitely come back here for me._'

The miko gave a sigh. She was starving and her stomach was loudly reminding her. She would just have to wait for Sesshoumaru to come back then. She settled herself down to wait.

'_He better not take too long._'

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Thirty minutes later, Kagome found herself still sitting there, waiting.

"I wonder what happened," Kagome thought aloud.

'_I guess I should probably take a look around then…_' she thought as she pushed herself off the ground, '_OWWWW… my legs STILL hurt! Gosh, I don't care if Sesshoumaru is a youkai or human- there is no way he can be walking around like that after being human for the first time._'

Kagome stumbled around a bit, her legs getting used to walking again. There was an edge of a forest to her left. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a small forest.

'_Good,_' Kagome the optimistic, thought as she stood at the edge, '_At least, I won't get too lost if I go in there._'

As soon as she took a few steps into the forest, Kagome stopped again.

'_What's that noise?_' Kagome turned her head and strained her ears to hear the faint noise.

"Are those…" she wondered aloud, "Voices?"

After waiting for a few more moments, the young girl heard the faint noises again. She began walking towards the noise.

'_Its people!_' Kagome thought with a hint of hope in her heart, '_It MUST be people!_'

Kagome's walk turned into a fast stride, then into a run. If it was people that she heard in the distance, they could save her from the horrible fate that she had been bound to.

Soon enough, Kagome broke out of the forest and found herself in a grassless clearing. Before her was a large ravine. Kagome looked around.

'_Where were those voices coming from though?_' her thoughts were confused. She was certain that she had heard voices as she ran through the forest. Cautiously, Kagome walked up to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

'_It's too deep to see anything…_' she stared into the dark depths of the ravine, '_Is this were the voices were coming from?_'

Kagome waited for a few moments and once again, she heard what sounded like voices coming from the depths of the ravine.

"Don't get too close, or you'll fall in."

Kagome spun around. There stood Sesshoumaru, or at least a very ravaged version of him. Blood drenched him- his dark hair was bloodied, his clothes were bloodied, heck, all of him was bloodied. Wounds were all over his body, he clothes torn in various places. He limped forward towards the miko to get her to get away from the edge. Kagome screamed and backed up, falling into the down into the eternal abyss.

Sesshoumaru cursed his bad luck and leapt down after his remedy.

* * *

You know, had I not felt so bad for not updating in over a year, I'd ask you to review. Alas, I do not deserve any reviews after making my faithful pets wait for over a year… oh… boohoo. T-T I'm going to go cry over there in the corner. PLEASE! DO NOT FEEL INDEBTED TO REVIEW! Though I would love over a hundred thousand times if you did… just a ray of hope 


	12. When Human Hands Touched

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

**FadedMoon**

**Disclaimer:** blah blah blah. I don't own Inuyasha. Blah blah blah.

**Chapter 12**

**When Human Hands Touched**

"Don't get too close, or you'll fall in."

Kagome spun around. There stood Sesshoumaru, or at least a very ravaged version of him. Blood drenched him- his dark hair was bloodied, his clothes were bloodied, heck, all of him was bloodied. Wounds were all over his body, he clothes torn in various places. He limped forward towards the miko to get her away from the edge. Kagome screamed and backed up, falling into the down into the eternal abyss.

Sesshoumaru cursed his bad luck and leapt down after his remedy.

* * *

Kagome groaned as she sat up. Not only were her legs overly sore, now all of her was sore. Not only that, her clothes felt damp. 

'_Damp?_'

She looked around her, her eyes getting used to the darkness. Straining her eyes, she could see the figure of a person, bent over. She felt her way over.

"Sesshoumaru?" she called out, hoping that it was him.

The now-human demon was washing his wounds- the water that he had found was from a small stream that flowed on the side of the large underground cavern they were in. His wounds stung, but at least they weren't too deep- they would stop bleeding soon… as long as he could bandage them correctly.

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome called out again, not sure if he had heard her the first time.

He did.

"What." he stated, very much pissed.

Kagome was a bit taken back, if this was really Sesshoumaru, which it was, she had never actually heard him… well, pissed off. The demon Sesshoumaru had always kept his cool, even when he was getting cut up by Inuyasha, or getting annoyed by his little frog servant.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, "Where are we?"

He stood up suddenly and stomped over to her.

"Where do YOU think we are?" he said through gritted teeth and pointed upwards towards the dim light of the top of the ravine's cliff, "It's YOUR fault that WE are DOWN HERE!"

Kagome was too stunned by his actions to actually take in what he said.

'_Wow… and I thought I was pretty touchy when I was pissed…_'

Sesshoumaru noticed the look on her face. He had never seen that expression before…

His hand went up to his face, slightly touching his forehead as his eyes turned downcast.

'_His eyes show so much… emotion,_' Kagome blinked, '_Wait, Sesshoumaru doesn't have any emotions, does he?_'

"Ugh…" the handsome man groaned, "Why am I yelling so much?"

His dark grey eyes glanced up at the high school girl.

"At a human… nonetheless…" he muttered.

Kagome felt sorry for the man in front of her. Or at least some sort of pity. Even she, at most times, could keep her emotions hidden from others. But Sesshoumaru… after being human for such a short time… it was like everything he thought or felt came out.

'_He must not be used to being like this yet…_'

Something inside of her wanted to help him…

"What are you looking at?" he barked at her, then turning he began to make his way down the dimly lit ravine, "Let's get moving, human- stop standing there like a idiot."

Kagome's eye twitched.

'_Or maybe not._'

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Kagome wearily walked behind Sesshoumaru- well, she was weary from the day before… not from their recent walking which has only last for five minutes so far. And so far, the journey was pretty much silent.

'_There's so much tension…_' the miko shuddered to herself as she eyed the exposed back of the human walking in front of her.

'_THAT's__ **sexual**__tension for you, Ka-go-me-chan!_' her evil inner self laughed.

Kagome's eyes widened when she noticed exactly _how_ much skin Sesshoumaru had showing now. Her eyes traveled across his body. Except for the slightly bloody wounds, Kagome could feel herself starting to drool.

'_Bad evil inner self!_' she disciplined herself, beating the little devil version of Kagome down.

However, it was apparent that Sesshoumaru had forgotten that he wouldn't heal as fast anymore. '_But where would I get cloth?_' she wondered, looking down. It was then that she realized that she hadn't been able to moved about as freely due to the kimono that she had never changed out of when they had left the castle.

"Ano… Sesshoumaru?" she timidly called out his name.

"WHAT?" he turned revealing a very annoyed facial expression.

The miko pointed at him.

"You're still bleeding…"

Sesshoumaru would have rolled his eyes and stormed over to the stream they had been following, had he not begun to feel the effects of so much blood loss. He, therefore, stumbled over to the stream. Kagome watched him for a moment, then made her way to his side.

"Here…" she spoke quietly, tearing the ends of her kimono into strips to bandage his wounds. He was quite at a state of shock of how gentle and nimble her hands were, working to tie the strips of cloth. He would have shuddered at the touch of her hands whenever she accidentally brushed his skin, had he not been so woozy from the blood loss.

"Um…" Kagome diverted her eyes away from his face because she was blushing, "Your… shirt… please?"

He looked down at his pretty much tattered yukata.

"Oh," was all he could say as he began removing his top cover. Kagome could feel her face growing redder every second- she blamed the gods for making Sesshoumaru so freaking hot.

She swallowed before turning to him again, tearing a larger portion of her kimono to tie about his chest.

"So…" she spoke, trying to pick up a conversation as she worked so she wouldn't be so nervous, "How did _this_ all come about?" she asked, indicating his injuries.

"I was scouting."

Kagome frowned at his extremely simple answer.

"Oh…"

After a few more moments of accidental brushing and amazement of nimbly hands, Kagome sat back at looked at her finished work.

"Okay… you're done."

Sesshoumaru slowly pulled back on what was left of his top.

"Uh… Thanks."

Kagome froze, staring at the man before her. Had Sesshoumaru seriously just thank her?

'_The world must be ending soon…_'

But no, Sesshoumaru was pretty much in shock of himself for thanking a human for helping him.

'_-BLEEP- humans…_' he cursed the human blood that ran through him now.

Suddenly, noise came from the way they were heading. Kagome stood, peering into the darkness.

"Do you hear voices, Sesshoumaru?"

The man followed her suit, standing up and quietly listening. There was definitely something there…

'_But those aren't voices…_'

The noise began to grow steadily louder.

"Come on, Sesshoumaru!" she yelled as she began running towards the noise. Sesshoumaru groaned as he followed.

The two found themselves stopping at a cross-section- not sure of which way to go. The ravine had turned into a underground cave- a cave with walls that echoed sound. Not only that, the noise was getting very loud now- something was coming.

Kagome turned to the man behind her and pointed to her left, "I think they're that way!"

Sesshoumaru peered down the way she was pointing. His eyes grew wide.

"Kagome!"

* * *

teehee, I'm so bad… I don't update for a while again and here I am with my evil cliffies –_maniacal laugh resounds_- 


	13. Through the Darkness

**The Moon Hides Its Light from Me**

**FadedMoon (Jiraiya's editor)  
**

**Disclaimer:** Woe be to everyone! I own Inuyasha! Haha, just kidding. I still don't own Inuyasha, but if I did… woe be unto everyone. Oh, and you might notice that this whole water cave scenes are from GTO. And if you do, THAT'S FREAKING AWESOME! Well, actually, I lied. It means you're cool. And I'm awesome. XD

**Chapter 13**

**Through the Darkness**

Kagome turned to the man behind her and pointed to her left, "I think they're that way!"

Sesshoumaru peered down the way she was pointing. His eyes grew wide.

"Kagome!"

* * *

Suddenly, Kagome was yanked backwards just as a huge wave of water shot by. The water was so high that it touched the cave ceiling. Kagome stared with wide eyes at the spot she had just been merely a second ago as she fell onto the ground. 

'_I could have just died…_' she realized with disbelief.

The human Sesshoumaru was also on the ground behind her, breathing heavily- his whole body was hurting from his split-second reaction. His arms were still around the shaking miko. Er… well they weren't really 'around' her. Sesshoumaru recovered from the shock first as he noticed that his hands were moving with the miko's short breaths.

'_Oh crap…_' he realized, '_Please… don't let me be grabbing _that_ part of her…_'

Peeking around the girl's shoulders, his fears were confirmed- when he grabbed Kagome away from the path of the roaring waters, his hands had grabbed her chest.

Sesshoumaru's face turned several shades of red as he realized that he liked the feeling of- '_WAIT!_' he panicked, '_I am NOT having these thoughts!_'

Less than a second later, he let go of her and quickly stood up- trying to make the red go away. He took a quick peek back at the girl- it seemed as if she was still in shock and hadn't noticed the fact that he had even touched her- and all the less, touched her in an off-limits area.

As soon as he felt his rapid heartbeat start to calm, he turn to her again.

"Ka… Kag-," he stopped himself when he realized he was calling her by her name, '_Oh heck no, I am not calling her by her name!_'

"You there… wench," he spoke, clearing his throat. Kagome slowly turned around- her eyes looking devoid of all emotions except fear.

"Are you okay?" he questioned her, trying not to sound caring. Kagome only nodded. Sesshoumaru moved towards her, then pulling her onto her feet by her collar, he took her hand by the wrist.

"Come on," he said, not looking at her, "It'll be safer and faster if we go like this."

Kagome's shock of having just been saved from dying turned into shock of a Sesshoumaru holding onto her wrist.

Her eyes traveled from their hands to his face.

"Ano… Sesshoumaru?" she timidly called his name, "Which way are we going?" They were standing at the center of the cross-section again.

"The water came from that way…" he spoke calmly as he thought, pointing to the right, "Then it went that way…" he pointed to their left, "The air smells a bit more stale from this way…" he pointed to the path ahead of them.

"We should go the way the water came from, right?" Kagome asked, "Since that means there must be an opening from where the water comes from!" Sesshoumaru nodded in agreement. "But it will be more dangerous if we go that way." The two peered into the dark depths of the cave.

"We should hurry… the water might come again…" he stated, tightening his grip on her wrist causing Kagome to wince at the pain. Using she her free hand, she gently, yet forcefully, pushed Sesshoumaru's hand down so that they were holding hands.

But Sesshoumaru didn't notice as he began hurrying them down the dark passageway.

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Kagome's breaths were getting shorter and shorter. And from what she could tell, Sesshoumaru wasn't holding up too well, either. '_I KNEW I should have joined the cross country track team back in middle school!_' she thought regretfully.

"Sh-Se-" she tried to catch enough air to speak, "Ses-Sesshou…" '_For the love of Kami, his name is freaking long!_' she cursed.

"What?" he practically gasped, not caring that she couldn't finish his name properly.

"I… I… think-" she tried speaking again.

"Shorter," he commanded. Kagome nodded, her head bouncing to their rapid pace.

"Need… stop," she finally got out.

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru halted, causing poor Kagome to collide with him, knocking him over.

"Go-gom-men…" she panted, on top of him, giving futile attempts to push herself off him.

Sesshoumaru, however, didn't seem to mind as much. He just merely rolled onto his back, causing the girl to fall off- however, Sesshoumaru's head ended up on Kagome's abdomen.

"Sess-Sessho-" she tried to catch her breath again. '_He SERIOUSLY needs a new name!_' she thought, annoyed this time.

"Can't- Can't… breathe!" she gasped- partially because the weight of his head was giving her diaphragm too much to deal with and also because if you know the game where you try to see how many people you can line up by having each person lay their head on another person's stomach… it seriously is NOT easy. Why? Because it tickles like crazy and the person can't stop laughing.

And that's exactly what Kagome did- she laughed.

Like crazy.

"AHAHHAHAHHAHAHA!"

Sesshoumaru was bewildered by the girl's strange reaction. Just when he had finally found a comfortable position that he actually liked- except for the fact that it was a human's stomach that he had his head resting upon- it was actually much more pleasant than what he had to do with since he was devoid of his usual makeshift pillow/fluffy tail.

"What's… wrong… wi-you…!" he sat up, turning to face her on his knees. Annoyance and confusion were written all over his face.

Kagome, however, just rolled over on the damp ground, and continued to laugh her head off.

'_Maybe the laughing demon has possessed her,_' his mind thought the crude joke while he just stared. (_A/N: teehee! Can you imagine? Fluffy-chan making jokes? LOL!)_

Soon enough, the girl's laughs began to die down. "Sesshou- Sesshoumaru-sama," she said, suddenly sitting up, her laughter stopped.

Sesshoumaru turned his dark grey eyes to her- finally relieved that she had stopped. But he actually liked hearing her laugh.

'_It is… pleasant,_' he concluded.

Suddenly, she broke out laughing again.

Sesshoumaru stared again, but he was happy to hear her peals of laughter ring through the cavern.

'_Oh… shiii…_' he stopped himself. They had been running for about fifteen minutes- '_But how long have we been resting? The water should be coming soon…_' he calculated. He turned to the laughing girl nest to him.

"Kagome," he spoke, before he could catch himself.

"You need a new name, Sesshoumaru-sama!" she spoke, still laughing.

"The water!" he said, standing up.

"Your name is just too long!" she laughed as he moved towards her.

"Okay, okay…" he spoke, pulling the girl onto her feet by her collar, "Choose whatever, we need to keep moving."

And they began running again, hand in hand.

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Minutes later, the two began to feel themselves beginning to tire again. It was definitely NOT a good sign.

'_How freaking long is this freaking tunnel?_' Sesshoumaru growled as they flew through the darkness. (_A/N: Fluffy-chan growled as in a human growling. No doggie growling for him_)

Just as his mood was about to become even worse…

"Sesshy!"

It took a few moments for the word to register in his mind.

'_Oh, HECK NO!_' his mind screamed in outrage, '_she did NOT just call me that- that… THAT THING!'_

He suddenly stopped, whirling about on her.

"What the HELL did you just call me?"

Kagome looked offended, despite her winded-ness.

"You… You… said… ANYthing!" she retorted.

Sesshoumaru was in a hellish fury.

But not for long.

"The voices…" Kagome said, her attention diverted from the hot pissed man in front of her. Sesshoumaru turned so he could hear better, loosening his grip on her hands as he did. Kagome walked to his side.

"You… hear it too, right?" she asked softly.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed.

"Those aren't voices."

Suddenly, it hit him.

'_Oh. Shit._'

HE grabbed onto her hands, and began racing towards the noise that was rapidly becoming louder.

"Sessh-?" Kagome asked, completely confused.

Sesshoumaru was cursing in his mind- cursing very rapidly to be exact. His eyes flew from his left to his right- looking for any sort of opening.

The noise was getting louder.

The string of lovely curses continued.

_Left_.

_Right_.

_Left_.

_Right_.

The noise was almost deafening now.

_Left_.

_Right_.

Kagome's eyes widened as a huge wall of white appeared before her.

_Right_.

_Left_.

'_LEFT!_'

Kagome felt her body get impaled onto a wet, hard and cold rock surface. What was left of oxygen in her windpipes were knocked out of her. But that didn't matter as much- she thought she was dead anyways as she heard the vociferous water come but she hadn't felt its pain.

That was… she thought she was dead until she realized there was a warmth from something pressed against her front.

She slowly opened her eyes.

Kagome found herself staring at soft-looking skin.

She blinked several times.

Now she found herself staring at Sesshoumaru's neck.

'_Oh… Great._'

She peered upwards.

'_Sesshoumaru's__ chin?_'

That's when she realized that her head hadn't hit the rock behind her- Sesshoumaru's arm was wrapped about her head, pressing her towards him. However, that wasn't the only thing she realized. There was a lot of him touching a lot of her.

"Sesshoumaru?" she asked, nervous of their intimate contact. (_A/N: yes, its 'intimate' to her. Chill.)_

Suddenly, his whole body weight seemed to fall onto her, pressing their bodies even closer than before.

"Sesshoumaru?" she panicked now- his body had gone completely limp.

"SESSHOUMARU!"

* * *

YAY FOR CLIFFIES –_does the yay for cliffies dance_- WHEEE! I think I feel evil right now. –_checks__ watch_- Yep. I'm evil right now. I think I'm gonna go poof for a month now and make you ALL suffer while I'm gone! MWAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAA! Ph34r the 3vi1 1337 0n3! … OKAY. nvm. BYE BYE! Be back in ONE month! XD 

Aw, wait... crap. I have a seriously bad feeling yall are gonna murder me... T-T please don't. I promise to update when I get back! I really do! Besides, who is gonna finish the story if you murder me? T-T Or actually, now that I think about it... I'm pretty sure one of yall will just finish it for me. --;; not exactly my idea of reader-supportive. BUT whatever.

THANK YOU FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!

BIG HUGGLES FROM ME IF YOU'RE THE **100TH** PERSON TO REVIEW!


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